It is official, the Pittsburgh Steelers are building through the trenches. The Steelers and Omar Khan pulled off a surprise trade to leapfrog the New York Jets and get Broderick Jones from the Georgia Bulldogs. Khan’s aggression and vision put his partner in a position to make a signature draft pick. If there was any doubt that Andy Weidl and Khan are working in perfect harmony to rebuild the offensive line, it has been removed.
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Broderick Jones celebrates in the 2023 National Championship after a second-quarter touchdown
The Steelers have not drafted an offensive lineman in the first round since they picked David DeCastro a decade ago. Khan gave his assistant general manager a lot of freedom in free agency to bring in players he was familiar with to fundamentally transform the offensive line and Weidl has done just that. He brought in Isaac Seumaulo who is one of the top five guards in the NFL and Nate Herbig and Le’Raven Clark to add much-needed depth and competition for James Daniels and Dan Moore Jr.
The Steelers’ interior offensive line is vastly improved, but they needed a signature player at tackle and Weidl found the most athletic option. Jones, who absolutely dominated in the SEC last season was an easy decision for the dynamic duo. Steeler Nation’s own Dee Gray pointed out that Jones has some work to do in pass protection at the NFL level, but against SEC competition last season, he did not give up any sacks. The best part about Jones is that he has not reached his ceiling, he is likely to improve under the tutelage of Steelers line coach, Pat Meyer.
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Steelers sign OT Broderick Jones
Steelers' Newest Tackle Broderick Jones Was An Easy Choice
Brian Baldinger who is an analyst for the NFL Network was extremely high on Jones when he appeared on the PM Team w/Poni & Mueller recently and compared him to the man he replaced for the Georgia Bulldogs, Andrew Thomas who was a second-team All-Pro for the New York Giants last season.
“You watch Broderick Jones at Georgia,” Baldinger observed. “He looks like Andrew Thomas from the New York Giants. It took him (Thomas) two years to figure it out and he’s a really good player. This guy Broderick Jones looks like that right now. He’s a young kid that is going to get stronger.”
Baldinger was practically gushing before the draft about Jones who he had as a better option than Paris Johnson Jr who was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals with pick number six. The draft fell perfectly for the Steelers to acquire Jones.
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Steelers Broderick Jones at NFL combine
“I don’t know how you could go wrong with Broderick Jones,” Baldinger continued. "He makes it look easy, which scares me because I don’t think anything should be easy.”
Khan and Art Rooney II deserve immense credit for talking Weidl into staying in Pittsburgh despite being passed over during the interview process. The architect of the Philadelphia Eagles’ elite units on the offensive and defensive lines that produced a Super Bowl appearance, made his opening move in the 2023 NFL Draft. He filled the last remaining hole on the offensive line and secured Kenny Pickett’s blind side.
Khan is channeling Dan Rooney who assembled a tremendous draft team with Bill Nunn, Dick Haley and Chuck Noll and relied on their advice to build a dynasty. Khan’s first move as a general manager was to get the best draft board builder in the NFL in Weidl and it appears Khan has given him carte blanche to execute his vision.
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Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin calls out players in practice.
Mike Tomlin should be ecstatic about the choice of Jones by Weidl and Khan. The Steelers got a road grater that should allow them to beat teams physically into submission. Tomlin’s best teams were physically superior units that punished their opponents. Khan and Weidl are providing him with the tools to see if that style can still work in today’s NFL. Based on the first choice of their tenure, they firmly believe it can.
What do you think Steeler Nation? Are you happy with the direction of the 2023 Steelers under the new regime? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
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