There won’t be a lot of starters on the field for the Pittsburgh Steelers during the preseason finale Thursday night. But one position where a starter could play is right tackle.
The position appears to be unsettled. Veteran Dylan Cook sits at the top of the depth chart at right tackle, but first-round rookie Max Iheanachor could still win the job. Pundits expect Iheanachor to make his preseason debut Thursday.
Fourth-year offensive tackle Broderick Jones is also in the mix. Jones, though, will likely have to play very well Thursday to move the needle in the right tackle competition.
Jones has struggled in his return from neck surgery this preseason. He hasn’t had a definitive role, which may be exacerbating his issues.
But regardless of where he has been playing, Steelers two-time Super Bowl lineman Trai Essex doesn’t see Jones being aggressive enough. Essex discussed the former first-round pick on “The Snap Count” podcast Tuesday.
“He’s not being physical. The punch is not there,” said Essex to his co-host Charlie Batch. “If I’m the coaching staff, and I have a 42-year-old starting at quarterback, I’m thinking, ‘Who gives me the best chance to give him the best protection at the right side?
“That’s Max Iheanachor. But also, if one of those guys gets hurt, who has the capability of playing left and right tackle?”
Will Broderick Jones Be Steelers Swing Tackle?
GettyFormer Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Trai Essex was critical of Broderick Jones this week.
Jones suffered a serious neck injury on November 23 last season. The ailment sidelined him for the rest of the 2025 campaign.
Early this offseason, Steelers general manager Omar Khan sounded unsure about when Jones would be fully available again. So, the team appeared to move forward with a plan that didn’t include Jones.
In the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, the Steelers selected Iheanachor. They then flipped Troy Fautanu to left tackle to replace Jones and didn’t exercise Jones’ fifth-year option.
Jones has fully recovered from his neck injury.
In a perfect world, Jones will either win the starting right tackle job or be the team’s swing tackle to begin the season. Jones has experience at both left and right tackle at the NFL level.
But he hasn’t excelled when asked to go back and forth between the two sides. Jones admitted after Week 2 in the preseason that he would prefer to focus on one position.
“Me coming back from injury, I would rather not swing like that,” Jones told reporters, via Steelers Now’s Brendan Howe. “I would rather stick to one side and just continue to focus on that one side, but wherever the team needs me — that’s right and left — I just gotta continue to get better so I can help my team.”
That puts the Steelers in a tough spot with Jones. It also makes how he performs in the preseason finale at right tackle all the more important.
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