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Broderick Jones has been on the Steelers radar for quite some time

Palmber-Thombsby: Palmer Thombs04/28/23palmerthombs

The Pittsburgh Steelers made Broderick Jones a priority in the 2023 NFL Draft, and it’s one that’s been in the works for over a year now.

Through the years, Tomlin has been a big proponent of the Pro Day dinners. Tomlin and the Steelers will go out to eat with a couple of their top prospects to get to know them off the field before they get to know them better on the field, watching them workout the next day.

That type of dinner took place in Athens last year with so many Georgia players available in the 2022 NFL Draft. Tomlin however wanted to know, ‘Who is it we’ll be back here to watch next year?’ Not only did he get a consensus answer from the Bulldogs in attendance, but he ended up getting that guy in the next year’s draft.

“He’s an extremely talented guy. We’re excited about him really at every step of the process,” Tomlin said. “Had dinner with him the night before the Pro Day, had a chance to spend time with him in his environment. It was interesting. I was in Athens a year ago and took a group of his former teammates out 12 months ago. I said, ‘Give me a name we’re going to be back for in 12 months.’ Universally, Broderick’s name was the name we got 12 months ago.”

“That was the first time I had really heard his name. In investigating him, I can see why they held him in such high regard,” Tomlin continued. “He’s a really good player right now, but the upside is tremendous. He’s a diaper dandy. We’re excited about getting him in the fold and teaching him and letting himself sort himself out. The division of labor will be decided during the team process, but make no mistake, we’re excited about having a young man of his talent.”

It’s the second straight year that the Steelers have taken a player out of Georgia and the third Bulldog taken under Tomlin’s direction. They drafted wide receiver George Pickens in the second round last year and linebacker Jarvis Jones with the No. 17 overall pick in 2013.

“Obviously they know each other and George is a great player,” Steelers first-year general manager Omar Khan said when asked about the existing relationship between Pickens and Jones who shared the field at Georgia for two seasons. “We feel great about Broderick. We’ll see where that relationship goes, but I know they know each other and hold each other in a high regard.”

“We spent a lot of time with him, met with him in Indy, we flew down to Georgia and had dinner with him along with several of his teammates so we got the opportunity to watch him interact and see how he was with them,” Khan continued. “Spent a great deal of time with him the day of the Pro Day, brought him in for a visit. He’s extremely excited. I think he felt at home here when he left.”

Tomlin said that through all the meetings with Jones, he got a good sense for the kind of person he is. Everybody in the Steelers organization is aware that he’s not a polished product, but needless to say, Jones is one that they’re excited to work with.

“He’s got a competitors mentality. He’s wired right for this line of work. He’s got a desire to be great, he’s highly competitive. There’s a reason why he put himself as a part of that environment,” Tomlin said. “He’s been a part of a winner and understands we’re a part of a winning business. He values that, he’s experienced that. Sometimes you can’t really value that unless you’ve been a part of it, and obviously the run that that University has been on with their football program, they’ve won about as much as you could win over the time he spent playing a significant role for them.”

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