Pittsburgh Steelers select Georgia OT Broderick Jones in first round of 2023 NFL Draft

With the 14th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers traded up and selected Georgia offensive tackle Broderick Jones. Pittsburgh used their first-round selection to take Broderick Jones with the intent to improve on last year’s roster.

The Steelers finished last year with a 9-8 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2019. Despite a slow start, the Steelers rattled off six wins in their final seven games to finish with a positive record. The season was coach Mike Tomlin’s 16th season at the helm, and they have never finished with a losing record during his tenure.

He started every game for the Bulldogs this past season en route to first team All-SEC honors one year after starting four games at offensive tackle in 2021. He redshirted the 2020 season as a true freshman, but wound up in the starting lineup as a redshirt freshman following the injury to Jamaree Salyer.

In 2022, Jones was one important part of a unit that allowed 0.6 sack per game, which ranked first in the SEC and No. 4 in the nation.

Jones also opened some eyes at the NFL scouting combine in March, Jones ran a 4.97-second 40-yard dash and had a 30-inch vertical jump.

Jones played high school football at Lithonia (Ga.) High School, where he was a Five Star Plus+ prospect, meaning he was one of the only players ranked by all four major recruiting media companies as a five-star. He was the No. 9 overall recruit in the 2020 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Steelers moves coming into the draft

Last season was the beginning of a new era for the Steelers, as they played their first season without Ben Roethlisberger under center. The Steelers brought in Mitch Trubisky via free agency and drafted Kenny Pickett with last year’s first-round pick — the 20th overall. Trubisky began the season as the starting quarterback, but Pickett won the job by Week 5 and began to take control of the offense.

Unfortunately, Pickett’s rookie season didn’t impress via statistics and he finished his first year with just seven touchdowns and nine interceptions in 13 games. Pittsburgh will look for him to take the next step as a sophomore quarterback while they build around him via the draft this year.

To do that, Pittsburgh came into draft day with seven total picks — including threee in the top-50.

Already this offseason, Pittsburgh signed two guards via free agency to help bolster their offensive line. Isaac Seumalo (from Philadelphia) and Nate Herbig (from the New York Jets) are the latest acquisitions by the Steelers. Additionally, they added veteran defensive back Patrick Peterson to help fill out their secondary.

More on the 2023 NFL Draft, Steelers picks

The 2023 NFL Draft, which began Thursday, April 27, continues through Saturday, April 29 in Kansas City, Missouri. The event location this year is the plaza just outside of Union Station.

Round 1 of the NFL Draft began at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, Apr. 27. Rounds 2-3 will begin at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, Apr. 28, and Rounds 4-7 will begin at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, Apr. 29. The draft broadcast runs throughout the weekend on both ESPN and NFL Network.

Below is the full list of Steelers draft picks for 2023.

• Round 1, No. 17
• Round 2, No. 32 (from Chicago)
• Round 2, No. 49
• Round 3, No. 80
• Round 4, No. 120
• Round 7, No. 234
• Round 7, No. 241 (from Minnesota through Denver)

On3’s Nick Schultz also contributed to this article.