The Dallas Cowboys offseason has been rather quiet when it comes to contract drama and off-the-field issues. One thing that has not been quiet is the additions to the Cowboys roster. Dallas has been busy this offseason rebuilding their defense. While it started with trading for Rashaan Gary, being more active in free agency, and using most of their draft class on defensive players, the Cowboys added very little to the offensive side of the ball. That is until they made a trade last week for Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Broderick Jones. Jones, heading into his fourth year, has had a rocky start to his NFL career since being selected 14th overall in the 2023 NFL draft.
But with Terence Steele having an underwhelming training camp and Drew Shelton struggling so far to start his career, the Cowboys decided on trading a third- and a sixth-round pick to the Steelers for Jones and a fourth-round pick. We can watch the tape and get an idea of why the Steelers wanted to move on from Jones, but there are signs of a player that has a future in the NFL starting at offensive tackle. I decided to talk with Steelers beat writer Nick Farabaugh to get a better understanding of what type of player the Cowboys added to their roster to compete for the starting right tackle spot. Let’s dive into our Q and A. There has been a lot of discussion around Jones health since the trade was completed.
How did he look health wise in camp? Nick: Broderick Jones is back to being fully cleared to do all football activities. So, from a true health standpoint, he is fine, but the strength still needs to come back. Jones said multiple times he was 15 pounds lighter than his usual playing weight, which is around 315 pounds. That is largely due to him missing seven months of lifting while rehabbing the neck injury, so he will just need time to recuperate in that area. However, he is playing without restrictions.
Jones mentioned moving around a lot as a reason for his struggles. Is there any merit to that and where do you think he’s played/fits best, left or right tackle? Nick: I do think there’s a lot of merit to that for Jones. The Steelers brought him in at left tackle and he basically played there in the entire lead-up to his rookie season before the Steelers threw him in at right tackle on limited reps in the middle of that season.
As a result of that, he lapsed back into some bad habits he had at Georgia technique wise. He was thrown around from right to left tackle and back during the next few seasons, including this one, but he always looked more comfortable at left tackle. The motor movements looked more comfortable, and generally speaking, his athleticism played on both sides, but he was more in control of his pass sets on the left side. Schottenheimer spoke about the trade for Jones was about improving their depth, but more so having him compete with Terence Steele for the starting right tackle job. Do you think that’s a realistic expectation? Nick: I can’t speak to how Steele has played, but Jones struggled mightily this training camp and preseason. My initial expectation would be it is not all that realistic given the fact Jones could not beat out Dylan Cook, who has been a career-long practice squad player for the Steelers over the past few years.
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Cook is not that bad, but he is far more a swing-tackle level player than a starting right tackle. Jones’ struggles with his technique in the preseason make him competing for a starting spot a somewhat hard venture. Speaking of Steele, fans have always appreciated his work as a run blocker, but his pass protection as regressed significantly over the last few seasons. Should fans expect Broderick to be better in pass protection or as a run blocker? Nick: Generally speaking, Jones brings a lot of bite and aggressiveness to the run game. His aggressive streak and physicality, especially on gap runs as a puller, is one of the best parts of his game. Jones uses his athleticism well in space to tee up defenders, so he can also be a real weapon in the screen game.
There is no doubt he will struggle in pass protection. Jones has too many inconsistencies with his hands and feet that show up snap-to-snap to make him a reliable pass protector where he stands now as a technician, but Cowboys fans can see Jones as a weapon in the run game, especially when he gets moving in space. What are some of Broderick’s main strengths and weaknesses?
Nick: Jones developed a few bad habits he has been unable to get rid of from his time at Georgia. Most of his struggles in pass protection stem from an overreliance on his athleticism to get by, and as a result, he has some nasty habits. Jones too often ducks his head, crosses his feet, or bends at his waist in pass protection as a fallback mechanism. For him, the details in pass protection are just never consistent down-to-down. Sometimes, he reaches his set point with great footwork, but his hands get too wide and he opens his chest.
At other points, the feet will be part of the problem. There is a lot of talent there, but nothing seems to click for him often enough. A few of his strengths come from his aggressive demeanor to punish the opposing edge rusher. That carries over into the run game, but he will also de-cleat jumpers and look to find work. His best trait in pass protection is identifying fronts and blitzes. Jones passes off stunts and twists with ease. The best trait in Jones’ game is his athleticism, which can sometimes allow him to get by on some reps, but it really adds to the play caller’s ability to run a diverse run scheme to his side.
Jones has a good deal of strengths and tools to work with, but his game is so scattered it is hard to find a consistent player in there right now. How is Broderick in the locker room as a teammate? Nick: Jones is one of the jolliest players I’ve ever covered. It would not be a stretch to say he is the sunshine of the locker room given just how happy he is to be playing football on a day-to-day basis.
He is a jokester who will love to pull pranks on guys. Either way, I can’t remember one bad word being said about Jones over his three years in Pittsburgh. He was a willing mentor and friend to any young or new players, took advice from veterans well, and added a lot of energy to some dead locker rooms over the years. Jones is a fantastic character off the field. Thanks to Nick for the information. What do you think of the trade now?
