Tag: broderick jones

Steelers GM Omar Khan reveals future plans for Broderick Jones

Omar Khan says the Steelers view Broderick Jones as a left tackle.

On Thursday, Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan addressed the media at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine and addressed the future plans for current starting right tackle Broderick Jones.

Jones was drafted in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft and was the starting left tackle for the Georgia Bulldogs. But when the Steelers needed him in the second half of 2023, he stepped in for Chuks Okorafor and was tremendous.

But according to Khan, Jones is a left tackle and that’s where the team wants him to end up

Versatility on the offensive line is important, and he proved that he could play right tackle, but he was drafted to be a left tackle and, eventually, he will be a left tackle. When that is, time will tell.

 

If you connect the dots it wouldn’t be a far-flung assumption to make that the Steelers could be looking to add offensive tackle Amaraius Mims in the 2024 NFL draft. Mims was the starting right tackle at Georgia opposite Jones and might be the best pure right tackle in the draft.

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Steelers officially release OT Chuks Okorafor

The Steelers benched Chuks Okorafor last season after being the regular starter from 2020 on.

On Tuesday, the NFL transaction wire noted that the Pittsburgh Steelers had officially released offensive tackle Chuks Okorafor. This comes a week after it was first reported that Okorafor was set to be released as a way to cut some salary cap.

The move frees up $8.75 million in salary cap space and gets the Steelers closer to cap compliance. The team still needs to trim around $4 million more to hit the break-even point.

Okorafor was benched back in late October after a humbling loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Okorafor was overheard criticizing the team from the sidelines. Was this a valid reason to sit him down or was this just an excuse to hand the job over to then-rookie Broderick Jones? We will never know.

With Okorafor gone, it leaves Jones and Dan Moore Jr. as the only viable offensive tackles on the roster and makes this a top offseason need.

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The Steelers might already have their new offensive tackle on the team

Should the Steelers convert Darnell Washington to offensive tackle?

Back in 1971, the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted tight end Larry Brown in the fifth round of the NFL draft. Brown spent his first six seasons with the Steelers as a tight end, amassing just 48 receptions.

Head coach Chuck Noll didn’t give up on Brown. Instead, he converted the big strong run blocker into a right tackle where he started 85 games over the next eight seasons. He even made the Pro Bowl in 1982 and was enshrined into the Steelers Ring of Honor in 2019.

Why does all this matter? Because the Steelers currently have tight end Darnell Washington on the roster and he could be a prime candidate for a similar position change.

Washington was selected in the third round of the 2023 NFL draft. Washington is a mountain of a man at 6-foot-7, 265 pounds and a devastating run blocker. Pittsburgh also drafted Washington’s teammate, offensive tackle Broderick Jones in the first round of the same draft and he is entrenched in the starting lineup after a strong rookie campaign.

But with the team releasing Chuks Okorafor and the inconsistent play of Dan Moore Jr. on the left side, there is still plenty of work to be done. It might not be a switch that can happen in a single offseason but we love the idea of Washington making the switch.

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Steelers 2024 offseason roster – Offensive tackles

Here are the offensive tackles on the Steelers roster heading into free agency.

The Pittsburgh Steelers already released former starting right offensive tackle Chuks Okorafor and we are still several weeks from the official start of free agency. Here are the remaining offensive tackles on the roster.

Senior Bowl – 10 Steelers NFL draft prospects to watch on the American roster

Here are 10 guys on the American Roster for the Steelers to keep an eye on.

This week is the Reese’s Senior Bowl which gives NFL teams an up close and personal look at some of the biggest and best prospects for the 2024 NFL draft. For the Pittsburgh Steelers, they have a coach on the American roster with assistant offensive line coach Isaac Williams coaching up the offensive line. This is great for a team needing help along the line in this year’s draft.

Here are 10 guys from the American roster for the Steelers to keep a close eye on.

Grading every rookie from Steelers 2023 NFL draft class

Here are grades for every rookie in the Pittsburgh Steelers 2023 draft class, including Joey Porter Jr. and Broderick Jones.

2023 was the first Pittsburgh Steelers rookie class built by general manager Omar Khan, As is the norm in the NFL, rookies get very little time to get acclimated before being thrust into a significant role but the Steelers were able to handle their rookie class just right. Here are our grades for the Steelers rookies.

Broderick Jones says Steelers ‘kicking the door down’ to AFC playoffs

The Steelers need a lot to go their way this weekend, but Broderick Jones is pushing for it.

The Pittsburgh Steelers need a lot to go their way this weekend, but rookie offensive lineman Broderick Jones is pushing for it.

“Slip up and let us in we kicking the door down,” he recently posted in his Instagram story.

All is not lost for Pittsburgh to make it happen, but it’s not a win-and-get-in situation. If only it were. Unfortunately, its three-game skid in the middle of the second half of the season put a wrench in those plans.

The Steelers need to beat the Baltimore Ravens for the most straightforward path. If the Steelers win, they need one of two things to happen to get into the playoffs: The Jacksonville Jaguars (versus Tennessee Titans) or Buffalo Bills (versus the Miami Dolphins) must lose one of their games to the Tennessee Titans or Miami Dolphins.

We’d rather not think about it, but there is a route should the Steelers lose this afternoon. If that were to happen, they’d need the Jaguars to lose specifically and the Denver Broncos to beat the Las Vegas Raiders.

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Steelers T Broderick Jones takes team-first approach to ground success

Don’t tell Broderick Jones that it’s no coincidence the Steelers have improved their ground game since he was inserted into starting lineup.

The success the Pittsburgh Steelers had on the ground in Week 12 wasn’t a result of Matt Canada no longer having his hand in things. The unit’s revival is something that’s been building for weeks.

The common denominator? Rookie tackle Broderick Jones.

Since he’s supplanted Chuks Okorafor as the starter in Week 9, Pittsburgh’s averaged a whopping 174 yards per game. Prior to that, the unit averaged just 79.7 per game — nearly 100 fewer yards. That’s an incredible turnaround.

But you won’t hear Jones take the credit.

“It’s not just me,” Jones told Steelers media on Thursday. “Like they say, one man don’t stop no show; one man don’t start it. It’s us as a collective. We’re playing more together. Everybody’s on the same page. That’s all I feel it is.”

He’s not entirely wrong. The other four linemen have picked up their game significantly. But the energy that “the oversized toddler” has brought to the line can’t be overlooked as to why.

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Steelers vs Packers: 4 guys we can’t wait to watch this week

These Steelers are poised for big games this weekend.

This week the Pittsburgh Steelers square off against the Green Bay Packers and despite the win last week, this feels like a team still searching for an identity and continues to shuffle the roster. After the drama of last week, we are ready to see the Steelers back on the field and playing better football. Here are four guys we can’t wait to see play this week.

Steelers OT Chuks Okorafor benched for saying the quiet part out loud

We found out why Chuks Okorafor was benched and we can’t say we blame him.

When we first heard that Pittsburgh Steelers starting right tackle Chuks Okorafor was benched for something he said during the Steelers loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, we assumed it had to be pretty egregious. Now, according to Steelers beat writer Dejan Kovacevic, we know the reason and honestly, I applaud Okorafor for what he did.

According to Kovacevic, head coach Mike Tomlin overheard Okorafor on the sidelines in the final minutes of the Steelers loss to the Jaguars and said the offense might as well kneel if they are going to keep calling these plays. Maybe not the best plan for it to happen but Okorafor basically said what every fan has been screaming for two months. Don’t punish the man for being the voice of the people.

As much as we are excited to see Broderick Jones playing so well at tackle, we don’t like seeing Okorafor being punished for venting his frustration about this pitiful offense. Meanwhile, Tomlin is completely indifferent to the behavior of wide receiver George Pickens, probably because he doesn’t have a first-round pick waiting in the wings to replace him.

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