Player: OT Broderick Jones
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: Though not quite out of the woods, Broderick Jones is reportedly on his way to recovering from a neck injury. Suffered late last season, he eventually underwent surgery to address it. Entering the final year of his contract, he could have a camp battle ahead of him. It’s imperative that he arrives to Latrobe ready to go and stake his claim at left tackle.
Three years into his career, the jury is still out on Broderick Jones, though that’s not entirely his fault. The Steelers have struggled to provide him with a stable environment early in his career. He has also dealt with injuries, last season ending with a neck injury requiring surgery.
A former first-round pick, Jones is now entering a contract year if the Steelers decline his fifth-round option. It seems extremely likely that they will, though they still have time to decide. But given there are questions not just about his play but also his health, declining is seems like the obvious answer.
Not that he doesn’t control his own future, provide that his body allows it. Broderick Jones could earn himself one of the largest offensive line contract in NFL history next March, if he’s healthy. All he has to do is win his starting job and have a career year. Given his age, he should be at or near the top of the free agent market in 2027.
The good news is the Steelers reported good news on Broderick Jones. Back in February, the messaging around him was more sober, and frankly, concerning. More recently, GM Omar Khan had a more positive update. He is doing more and more, physically, and seems on track to participate in time for training camp.
Once there, however, the next chapter begins. It seems likely the Steelers will let Dylan Cook compete with Jones at left tackle. It’s quite possible that they also draft a tackle, likely on Day 2 if at all. In theory, he should have the physical tools to take on all challengers. But if it were that simple, he would have been a Day 1 starter rather than biding his time for Dan Moore Jr. to leave in free agency and playing at right tackle while he waited.
With the 2025 season behind us and the new league year underway, we still have stock to take. Already promising a year of change, they are shaking things up. That is unavoidable, of course, when you gut the coaching staff. Mike Tomlin’s resignation will fundamentally change this football team, including the playoffs on the roster.
After a long season, we have finally seen that this Steelers team is playoff-bound. But they also showed that their progress was actually minimal, since they made it no further. Two years in a row, with two different quarterbacks, they went 10-7 and lost in the Wild Card Round. The only differences are they ended the season on a higher note and won the division. But it didn’t help.