Dan Moore celebrates with Najee Harris, Kenny Pickett.
It’s rarely a good thing when your team drafts a player at your position with their first overall pick. But that’s what happened to Pittsburgh Steelers left tackle Dan Moore Jr. when his team moved up three spots to grab Broderick Jones in the 2023 NFL draft. But then again, there’s nothing like stiff competition to bring out the best in a player.
The Steelers would not have spent such a precious pick on Jones if they forecasted Moore, 24, as a long-term solution. If he continues the forward momentum from offseason practices into training camp, Moore could hold Jones off this season.
Or Jones could dominate in camp, landing Moore on the chopping block.
“Bring up the name Dan Moore Jr. in Pittsburgh, and it brings pain to most in the Steel City,” FanSided’s Nick Villano wrote in Every NFL Team’s Most Surprising Cut Candidate. “It’s about as painful a name as Matt Canada for Steelers fans. Dan Moore Jr. had a very bad season at left tackle, but who could really blame him? He was a second-year player who was a fourth-round pick the year before. He was thrust into the left tackle spot unexpectedly, and now he’s being blamed for some of the struggles on offense.”
Pittsburgh chose not to retain arguably its best left tackle in franchise history, Alejandro Villanueva, after the 2020 season. Moore came in with big shoes to fill and never quite filled them. Though he started 33 of 34 games, he allowed 14 sacks over two seasons.
“The Steelers clearly knew they had an issue, and they traded up to select Broderick Jones, the best tackle in the class according to some analysts. Jones is ready to jump into the lineup immediately, pushing Moore out of it. How will the Steelers handle that?”
“What happens if what we all expect to happen happens? Will Moore be a good teammate and just let his job go? Seeing your team draft a younger version to be your replacement seems like a hard pill to swallow. The Steelers might decide it’s just easier to part ways with Moore entirely.”
Why Steelers Tackle Dan Moore Jr. Won’t Be Cut
The Pittsburgh Steelers enjoyed a rare occurrence in 2022: Each player on the offensive line remained healthy for all 17 games. Something like that is unheard of in the NFL and is doubtful to happen in consecutive years. He’s not a bad player, merely inconsistent. Teams are only as good as their depth as injuries are a part of the game and the next man up is an unfortunate play away. For this very reason, having a reliable player who knows the system in reserves is valuable.
But depth might not be the role for Moore heading into the 2023 season. The Steelers love him, particularly their offensive line coach, Pat Meyer. “If you watched him from midseason last year to the end of the season, he’s improved as much as anybody I have ever been around,” he told The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly. “To me, he’s going to be lights out.”
Steelers OL coach Pat Meyer on Dan Moore Jr.: “From his rookie season to last year, he’s improved just as much as anybody I have ever been around.”
Meyer’s praise indicates it’s Moore’s job to lose and that might not be a bad thing for the inexperienced rookie. Broderick Jones only had 19 starts to his name at Georgia, though he was the starter for the Bulldogs’ back-to-back championships. It’s a tough position to master with limited experience and raw athletic ability, so he could be riding pine as a rook.
In the same vein, Moore could also be valuable as trade bait if Jones shows promise and another team’s starter goes down for a significant amount of time. He has 33 games of experience as a starter and is capable of filling the void for a needy opponent.
At best, Moore holds Jones off one more season. A rookie soaking it all up from a backup spot isn’t always such a bad thing. At worst, he’s a swing tackle offering Pittsburgh experienced depth at a critical position.
“It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that Moore would make way for rookie first-round pick Broderick Jones at left tackle,” Kaboly wrote. “That will eventually happen, but maybe not as quickly as originally thought.”
Kaboly noted what great shape Moore came into offseason practices in and that he took all top snaps throughout a dozen sessions. Early on, he worked individually at right tackle anticipating a potential change, but it’s looking like that won’t happen.
Moore could’ve easily packed it in after they drafted Jones. It had the opposite effect, fueling him, and now has a legitimate shot at holding on to his job.
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Steelers’ ‘Painful’ Veteran Considered Surprising Cut Candidate