The Steelers chose to fortify their offensive tackle position by trading up and selecting Georgia offensive tackle Broderick Jones with the 14th overall pick in the NFL Draft Thursday night.
Pittsburgh acquired the 14th overall pick from New England in exchange for the 17th overall pick and 120th overall pick in the 2023 draft and took the two-time national champion.
Much consideration was given to varying positions, but it was evident that protecting Kenny Pickett's blind side was the primary need as the draft neared and subsequently kicked off and ran is course through 13 picks.
Welcome to Pittsburgh, @millionairemov3 ‼️ pic.twitter.com/TdcvdmbnUR
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) April 28, 2023
The Steel City just got a DAWG!
— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball) April 28, 2023
Congratulations, @millionairemov3.#GoDawgs | #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/t5L4k2PbYH
The look when @millionairemov3 found out he was a Pittsburgh Steeler 😏 pic.twitter.com/gv8yGQAmPh
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) April 28, 2023
Jones was the fourth offensive lineman and third "true" offensive tackle taken in the draft, after the Cardinals moved around for Ohio State's Paris Johnson Jr. at pick No. 6, the Bears moved back for Tennessee's Darnell Wright at No. 10, and the Titans held at No. 11 for Northwestern's Peter Skoronski.
The Steelers jumped ahead of the Jets, who at pick No. 15 was thought to have been in the market for a left tackle to block for the newly acquired Aaron Rodgers. The next offensive tackle taken in the draft was Oklahoma's Anton Harrison, who was taken 27th by Jacksonville.
"Yeah, that means a lot to me," Jones said in a conference call with reporters, of the Steelers trading up to pick him. "I just can’t wait to get to Pittsburgh and start that journey, you know? It’s a whole new journey. I can't wait to start that process over. I can’t wait to keep growing and hit the peak of my growth because I’m not done yet. I’m not near as close to being to the end goal so I’m ready to get back to work and perfect my craft."
Jones blossomed as a full-time starter for Georgia in 2022, earning a first-team All-SEC nod after starting all 15 games on Georgia's second straight national championship team. Jones earned an 84.1 pass-blocking grade from PFF as a full-time left tackle last season. As a high school prospect, the Lithonia, Ga., native was the No. 11 overall player in the nation with a five-star rating in the recruiting class of 2020.
He shed some weight throughout his three seasons at Georgia, measuring at 315 pounds out of high school to 311 pounds as measured at the NFL Combine. The NFL Next Gen Stats grading system gave him a score of 85, second-best among offensive tackles to participate in the event. Jones tested among the best at his position athletically at the Combine. His 4.97 40-yard dash led all offensive linemen, and his 30-inch vertical and 9-foot broad jump were respectable results. He measured at 6-foot-5 with a 34 3/4-inch arm length and a 10 5/8-inch hand width.
Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan each scouted Jones thoroughly, including at the Georgia pro day. They liked the 21-year-old enough to pull the trigger on a picks swap and by giving up additional capital for him.
"He's an extremely talented guy," Tomlin said. "We were excited about him, really, at every step of the process. We had dinner with him before the pro day, had a chance to spend the time with him in his environment.
"It was interesting. I was in Athens a year ago and took a group of his former teammates out, 12 months ago, and I said, 'Give me a name that we're going to be back for in 12 months,' and universally Broderick's name was the guy, the guys named that we got 12 months ago. That was the first time I really heard his name.
"In investigating I can see why they held him to such high regard. He's a really good player right now, but the upside is tremendous. He's a diaper dandy. We're excited about getting him in the fold and teaching him and letting them sort themselves out."
By the sound of the above words from Tomlin, it sounds like the tires were kicked on Jones while the Steelers were scouting former Georgia receiver and eventual second-round pick George Pickens last year.
"George Pickens is my guy, man. We have a great relationship," Jones said.
Jones used the adjectives "physical, fast and dominant" to describe his play style. Khan added in that "it's all that, and more."
"As late as this afternoon, we've been going through detailed strategy meetings, and Broderick was a player we identified would be a great addition to our team," Khan said. "When we saw how the draft was going and he was still sitting there, we started making some phone calls to see if there was an opportunity to trade up and get him and fortunately, we were able to make that trade with New England. Really excited. I think he's going to be a really great Steeler for a long time. I love his athleticism, love the upside with him. We got off the phone with him, talked to him, and he was really excited."
Jones is the third consecutive offensive player selected by the Steelers in the first round, joining Najee Harris in 2021 and Pickett last season. Prior to Harris' drafting from Alabama, the Steelers had not used a first-round pick on an offensive player since David DeCastro in 2012.
In Jones' words, he's about to become one of the "dawgs."
"I don’t know too much about them," Jones said of Harris and Pickett. "I know both are great dudes through just watching the interviews and seeing them on social media and stuff. Najee, we played against him my freshman year. I wasn’t able to go but just watching him, he’s a dawg. Kenny Pickett’s a dawg. That’s all Pittsburgh is. Pittsburgh breeds dawgs, and I believe that’s why they picked me."
The Steelers' next choice in the draft is slated at pick No. 32, which is the first pick of Friday's second round by virtue of the Dolphins having to forfeit their first-round selection this year. The Steelers acquired that pick in November from Chicago in exchange for Chase Claypool.
The trade with New England was one of six deals spun during the draft. The Patriots took Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez with the 17th pick.
"You know, there were a lot of -- I think everyone that was watching the draft would probably say there were several moves that were probably unexpected and surprises, and we see these moves pretty much at the same time everybody else does," Khan said. "It was an interesting time. We are just really excited we were able to move up and make that trade."
