Broderick Jones taken No. 14 overall by Pittsburgh in 2023 NFL Draft
Broderick Jones became the fourth Georgia offensive tackle in the past seven years to be taken in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday. Pittsburgh used the No. 14 pick to draft the Lithonia, Ga. native on Thursday night.
Jones is the second off the board thus far. He joins Isaiah Wynn, Andrew Thomas, and Isaiah Wynn as first-round offensive tackles since Kirby Smart took the head coaching job at Georgia back in December of 2015.
At 6-foot-5 313 pounds, Jones was the fastest offensive tackle at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.97 seconds. He also posted a 30-inch vertical leap and a nine-foot broad jump.
The knock on Jones is his starting experience. He has just one full season as a starter under his belt. The former five-star prospect did, however, start four games during the 2021 season as Jamaree Salyer, a starter for the Los Angeles Chargers after getting drafted in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, dealt with a foot injury.
Jones stepped into the left tackle spot during his third season as a Bulldog and flourished. He started all 15 games, rotating some with Warren McClendon who would slide over to left tackle during games.
As a high school prospect…
Jones committed to Georgia when Sam Pittman was the offensive line coach. He signed with the Bulldogs after Pittman had moved on to become the head coach at Arkansas and Matt Luke had taken over the position coaching duties. He wrapped up his career with Stacy Searels as his coach.
The fact that he’s a first-round selection comes as no surprise. Jones was the No. 9 overall prospect and No. 1 offensive tackle in the 2020 class per the On3 Industry Ranking. He was also the No. 3 player in Georgia.
“Broderick Jones was an On3 Five-Star Plus+ recruit coming out of Lithonia (Georgia) High School in the Class of 2020,” Jones On3 bio reads. “The ranking means he was considered a five-star prospect by all four major recruiting services. Jones picked UGA over Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Arkansas and Illinois. Jones quickly established himself as one of the top offensive linemen in college football and is already on top of a lot of NFL draft charts.
“After starting against South Carolina at right tackle in 2020, he played in every game of UGA’s national championship season. He started the last four games of the regular season at left tackle and earned All-SEC freshman team honors from conference coaches. He’s emerged in 2022 as the Bulldogs’ starting left tackle. Jones is majoring in sports management and is the recipient of the Heyward Allen Football Scholarship.”
Jones is living the dream…
As is the case with most players, making it to the NFL is a long-time dream for Jones. In a pre-draft interview with the NFL Network’s Good Morning Football, Jones talked about how he is looking forward to facing the best at the next level.
“Man there are so many great players in the league that I’ve watched for so many years,” Jones said. “Like the Von Millers, the Aaron Donalds, everybody, just everybody. Even the young cats coming in. Like some people I went against in college I’m still… because just the matchup perspective of it, just being able to go against so many different players with so many different techniques and so many different styles of play.
“It’s something that’s new but not new at the same time, if you understand what I’m saying. So just being able to go lock in with myself and being able to play my best game and go against anybody they put in front of me is what I’m looking forward to.”
