This is a big year for Broderick Jones

This will likely be a make-or-break year for Jones, they're going to find out if he's their LT of the future. They can't afford to miss on him they need him and Fautanu to be their bookends, after the season they will need to make a decision whether or not to pick up Jones 5th year option.

 

Tackles are expensive (so is the entire OL when it comes to 5th year options, since they don't differentiate between the three positions), and currently rank behind only QBs when it comes to option year amounts. If Jones plays in 50% of the snaps or more he'll qualify for the second tier option. If he makes the Pro Bowl, he steps up to the third. This year the second tier for OL was $17.5M; the third was $21.2M.

He'll likely qualify for second tier, which will probably be $18M next year.

 

It's just amazing how good of a draft that year was. Who do we have left on the team?

 

All of them at the moment.

 

Huge year, time to put up or shut up.

 

He doesn't deserve it up to this point.

 

I have the feeling one way or another it will be an easy decision

 

I had heard of the tier rankings, but was not sure how they made the tier designations, unless he sucks really bad I do not think picking up the option is going to be a big decision, Dan Moore was not the best, but certainly not the worst and look at the contract he got. He certainly has to show growth, but these guys are not a dime a dozen either.

 

Actually it’s about 8.1M dimes a dozen

 

Broderick Jones panning out does wonders for Pittsburgh's Draft Plans for 2026. Broderick Jones not panning out will have a cataclysmic effect on those very same draft plans. Do or die for Broderick.


He was, and still is, my favorite player that Khan has selected. Not because he was Khan's first ever pick but because of the fact that I believed that Broderick Jones wasn't going to make it to Pittsburgh leading up to the 2023 NFL Draft. He is simply way too gifted and talented for me to throw the towel on him.


Tomlin botching his development hasn't helped. That said, he himself has had his own issues; hand placement and ducking his head at the point of contact when engaging blocks being his two biggest shortcomings still. He has to put it all together.


Here is hoping he can.

 

That's where guards and centers get a bit of a boost in that the range of top salaries considered for fifth-year options includes all offensive linemen. Currently the top guard APY is $23M, while the top center is $18M - there are seven tackles whose APY is north of $23M. It's not uncommon for teams to shift linemen to different slots along the line early in their careers, but I see a snap count provision to determine position being added somewhere in a future CBA.

There are four tiers. The first is the base, the second is based on snap count percentage, the third if the player makes one Pro Bowl, the fourth if they make two or more.

I tend to agree on Jones. At first I thought they'd be best agreeing on an extension - and depending on his performance this year that might still be the case - but seeing Moore, Jr. get a 4yr/$82M contract with over 50% guaranteed changed the landscape a bit.

 

It will be interesting for sure, he was drafted knowing he needed development, now he goes to LT, how much progress has he made and how far will he go. I think the question of extension will be based not so much on great play, but continual solid growth and improvement. The extension is expensive and guaranteed, but is less than even midlevel performers, so i he is growing and the potential is still through the roof you better take that extra yea, or if you already see it try and extend early, the cost is only going to go up.

 

Agreed.


For that matter, people who were shocked at Dan Moore's huge payday are only looking at the forest though the trees and not looking at the forest atop the mountains. Even solid Offensive Tackle play is very difficult to come by. For example, Ikem Ekwonu was the 6th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Given how he was a Top 10 selection, one would expect him to have either a Pro Bowl nod or an All Pro to his name. He has neither. However, the Panthers just recently picked up Ikem's fifth year option despite him not fully living up to his draft status. That said, he has been a rock solid Offensive Tackle.






I myself have watched a couple of Panthers games both in Ickey's Rookie Season and this one; 2023 being omitted for I was paying too much attention to Broderick. Night and day difference for Ekwonu. Long story short?! Great Offensive Tackle play in a league that very starved for it is comically rare; potentially even more rare than Superstar WRs. Only great Offensive Tackles that come to mind are Jordan Mailata, Tristian Wirfs, Penei Sewell and, to a lesser extent, Laremy Tunsil.

 

How so

 

If you want to put this into perspective... Dan Moore just signed for $82 million with $50 million guaranteed.

$17.5 million doesn't seem so high right now.

 

It can be, but it's also a premium position because it's the primary protector of the most important position on the field.*

That said, I still think the Titans overpaid. The market wasn't the greatest, but that makes it a bit stranger that they elected to give him the biggest OT contract of this FA period by $5M in APY.

You can point to people like Ekwonu, but he at least has the pre-draft performance that suggests he could be finally starting to acclimate to the next level (as we're hoping Jones shows this year), not to mention his worst year is equal to Moore's best, per PFF.

Moore, Jr
2021: 57.5
2022: 62.4
2023: 54.4
2024: 67.2


* Granted, the FO has shown how concerned they are about spending on the latter...maybe that's Khan's strategy: Jones has a great year but Khan haggles him down from $20M+/year by pointing out they've spent under $15M for the entire QB room each of the past two years. Brilliant!

 

A young raw Offensive Tackle with the fewest starts to be picked within the Top 20 in over a decade gets his position switched as opposed to learning behind a veteran. I understand that the team didn't have a veteran Swing Tackle but at the time. However, such a move could have been made after the draft. Reaching out to Kelvin Beachum would have been a good start as he has played both spots in his long NFL Tenure.


Remember that, generally speaking, Offensive Tackles taken within the Top 15 usually have over 25 starts total. Broderick came in with less than 20 coming out of Georgia. Of those 20 or less, only one full season's worth of experience as a Left Tackle. Asking him to switch to another position was not a good idea; doubly so given his raw inexperience.


Fast forward to 2025 and Broderick now has more experience on the Right Side of the Offensive Line than he does on the Left. He is back at his Natural Position but to expect a player to essentially re learn the finite points of playing that position is going to be one of the more underrated storylines for Broderick Jones heading into the season. Keep in mind that, while in terms of both Offensive and Defensive preparation, Left Tackle and Right Tackle have little to no difference anymore. That said, that doesn't mean players who have played a specific position for a long period of time can simply flip over and the results will be the same. A lot changes from even that action; hand placement, which hand to strike with first, how to properly anchor, which foot to anchor with first, body control from going one direction laterally to another, leverage control going from one direction to another, etc.


I am rooting hard for Broderick Jones. He isn't without blame as I said. However, how Tomlin has nicked his development shouldn't be forgotten; doubly so as he has done before.

 

I still don't think the Titans overpaid personally. A couple reasons why:


1.) Dan Moore will only be 27 and will have over 4000 snaps as an Offensive Tackle. Now, snaps by themselves do not beget quality but Dan Moore is third only to Penei Sewell and Jawaan Taylor. Of the two, Penei is the most notable for both Moore and Sewell are from the same class. Not even the likes of Christian Darrisaw (injury), Walker Little or others come even close.

2.) Dan Moore, as you noted via PFF, had his highest grade of his career in 2024... with Pat Meyer as the Offensive Line Coach. He is now headed to Tennessee where he will be taught under the Legendary Bill Callahan; one of the NFL Greatest Ever Offensive Line Coaches. Like Karl Dunbar, where ever Bill goes, Pro Bowls to All Pros follow in his wake.

3.) Dan Moore did taper off at the end of the 2024 Season but let's not forget that the first 10 games of the season where easily some of the best we have ever seen him play. Who's to say that the Titans will not receive an even better version of Dan Moore. Conversely, this also must bring up the question who is to say the Titans will receive the worst of him?! Can go 50/50 but Moore's age, experience and new teach are gonna go a long... way.



In short?! Offensive Tackle play, as you said, will come with a cost. The aspect though that many people seem to miss about Free Agency is something I have been saying since 2018;


"Free Agency isn't always about being good. Free Agency was, is and shall always be which team is willing to offer you the most possible."


Christian Kirk is an excellent example of this. By no means he should have gotten that deal to reset the Wide Receiver market... but he did. Thankfully Dan Moore didn't reset the OT Market but even a solid starter like him is worth a helluva lot.

 

Disagree

Getting snaps at any position is better than sitting on the bench

And he would/should have been on the bench if he did not play RT

Plus he only played RT because the expected RT was kaput

 

This is true... for an experienced Collegiate Offensive Tackle coming into the NFL. If a player has played a position for a long time before coming into the NFL, his level of success will be higher should he continue to play that position. While not an Offensive Tackle in this case, Zach Frazier is an excellent example of this; a Center his whole life essentially playing a position he was tailored built for. As for First Round Offensive Tackles?! Andrew Thomas, Christian Darrisaw, Darnell Wright and to a lesser extent, Charles Cross. Now, for such successes, there are failures; Mekhi Becton, Jedrick Wills, Evan Neal, Alex Leatherwood, and Anton Harrison.


Now, to your point, within the same vein, there have been cases of players playing primarily one position in college while having to switch to another that have panned out. Penei Sewell was a Left Tackle at Oregon before switching to Right; an multi year All Pro in the Process. Joe Alt and Taliese Fuaga both had to switch and had some of the better seasons for NFL Rookie Offensive Lineman had attained in some time. Paris Johnson played all games as a Right Tackle before returning to Left in 2024 for Arizona. Even Tyler Smith, the Dallas Cowboys First Round Pick from 2022, transitioned from Offensive Tackle to Offensive Guard; a successful transition no less. Mehki himself didn't pan out at Offensive Tackle but he turned out to be a rock solid guard for the Eagles. That said, Alex Leatherwood wasn't able to do this successfully. Peter Skoronski hasn't been able to either.


In short?! Experience by itself is only that; experience. If the person in question isn't progressing while getting that experience, that effect can be detrimental. For Broderick, he had a good Rookie Season. An injury and a very tough start to 2024 didn't help. 2025 is where he needs to put it together; this time though on a side in which he technically did play in one game as a Rookie in 2023 against Baltimore... but that was long ago. A lot has changed since then.



Will Broderick be able to?! I would love nothing more than that. However, time will tell.

 

I don't know that anyone's missing that. I mean, I addressed this year's market in my last post, and it should be common knowledge that in general the open market favors the player. And while one's definition of "resetting the market" can differ, I disagree if you think that agents representing pending free agents or those negotiating extensions aren't filing away the contract Moore just got. The top APY at the position may be the primary reset point, but the top contract from the most recent FA pool carries some weight in negotiations as well.

I'm not a big PFF person, but Moore's play was a tale of two quarterbacks last year. He looked good with Fields, terrible at times with Wilson. Some of the latter's probably on Wilson, but so is some of the former on Fields.

 

Dan Moore didnt exactly raise the floor for the OT Market. While he is in the Top 10 of earners per his position, I wouldnt exactly call that a win for agents. Dan Moore isnt someone Agents should be looking at heading into 2025 anyways. Why?!


Charles Cross and Ikem Ekwonu would the more appealing potential earners once their extensions hit; doubly so in Cross' case. He is either enterting Top 3 among OTs or will reset the market. Ickey may come close to Charles but I dont think he is going to top him once his own extension is complete.

 

Those last two problems you mention also have little to do with which side he plays on. He lost fundamentals at times last season and in fact seemed to have even lost his assignment on plays. He had an awful start to last season that led to his benching.

I put more blame on Meyer for development. He's never really put together an OL where he's coached. If there is one fault Tomlin has, it's sticking with a guy longer than he should have (Moore). That actually works in Jones' favor.

 

Moore had to play last season though because Fautanu got hurt.

 

Who said Meyer was exempt from Jones' development. Tomlin flipping sides didn't aide his cause but Pat's lack of guidance also factors in here. Takes two to tango in the case of Broderick.


I mainly pointed out his issues though for Broderick himself isn't blameless in all of this. Alex Kozora had a great video breakdown of some of the simple aspects that Broderick struggled in his Rookie Year that still plauged him heading into Year Two. As I said, rooting hard for him.