Steelers' Broderick Jones Detailed His Welcome To The NFL Moment From Cam Heyward: "He Ate Me Alive"

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a team that has high expectations year in and year out. That means that the young guys that come in each season from the NFL Draft are going to be thrown into the fire quickly during the summer and into training camp. That is especially true amongst positions like the offensive line, where the Steelers have spent back to back first round picks and couldn't afford to ease players into the league. 

In 2023, the team selected Broderick Jones out of the University of Georgia, and this past April, they selected Troy Fautanu out of the University of Washington. In 2023, Jones had high expectations, and while he didn't earn the starting job right out of the gate to begin the regular season, he did end up starting for Dan Moore Jr. at left tackle in Week 5. He never looked back once he got the full-time job in Week 9 for a benched Chukwuma Okorafor at right tackle. While he might have been considered "eased into" his role as a starter, that wasn't quite the case when it came to summer practices. 

Early on, Jones was given a quick welcome to the NFL moment that he will likely never forget. When talking on the Ramon Foster Steelers Show, Dejan Kovacevic shared a story that Jones shared with him about how he was given a quick lesson by none other than Cam Heyward. Despite Heyward's reputation as being one of the best defensive linemen in the league (some would even say top 5), Jones believes he had a chance. 

"My first camp," Kovacevic starts recalling the story as told by Jones, "We're lining up for blocking drills... it's going to be head to head. I'm standing there and I'm sizing up who I am going to be facing. The next thing I hear is, '97, you got the kid,' [from Mike Tomlin]. So I am thinking, wait a second, that's not even the same position, I'll never face him. What are we doing here? Oh, wait a second, I know what he's doing. Alright, I got this, I got this. I can take this guy. BOOM! BOOM! Down to the ground, he ate me alive! That never happened to me in my life!"

Going up against an average NFL veteran defensive lineman is not an easy task for a rookie regardless of their draft pedigree. But getting paired against an All-Pro and potentially a future Hall of Famer? That is a task that hardly any rookie in NFL history would be ready for. 

Jones by this point has come a long way from the guy he was as a rookie during his first summer with the team, as he proved throughout his starts last season that he is capable of being a tackle in this league. It would be interesting to see a rematch between these two again this fall should the opportunity arise, as it would get a lot of eyes on it as much of Steeler Nation is looking to see the progress from Jones, and if Heyward still has it based on his desire for a new contract. 

Steelers Might Not Be Able To Ease Fautanu Into A Starting Role

Fautanu was picked a couple spots behind where Jones was picked the previous season, but like Jones, the team tried to trade up for Fautanu to ensure they got their man. In 2023, they were successful in trading up, but in 2024, they got lucky their man slid to them. That being said, Fautanu likely won't be awarded the same luxuries Jones was where he sat behind two veterans to begin the season. 

It is still a bit unclear which of the two will end up being asked to play which tackle spot at this point, as Jones played right tackle last season, but both Jones and Fautanu were left tackles prior to the NFL. Moore Jr. is currently running as the starting left tackle, but you don't draft offensive tackles in the first round back to back years if you're happy with his performance, so his time as the starter might come to an end before the season starts. This would lead to Fautanu being thrust into a starting spot well before Jones was last season. 

Let us know below what you think about Heyward giving Jones and other rookie offensive linemen their welcome to the NFL moments below!

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