The Cowboys are still waiting to see Broderick Jones make the kind of stride that changes the conversation.
Dallas offensive coordinator Klayton Adams said Thursday before practice that Jones needs to show a “jump” this week, a comment that suggests the former Steelers first-round pick hasn’t yet hit the standard the Cowboys want after landing in Dallas on cutdown day.
“The physical part of it is gonna take time,” he said of Jones, per Patrik Walker of DallasCowboys.com. “Not sure how those things fell through the cracks where he was at, but we're gonna have a different physical standard for what we're gonna ask him to do.”
“[We told Jones] we need to see a jump from you this week,” Adams added.
That kind of language lines up with what head coach Brian Schottenheimer said when Jones first arrived. Schottenheimer made clear the team believes it has work to do with the tackle’s technique.
“There are some techniques he’s been taught that we’re having to retrain, and usually it takes a minute, but in terms of the athlete and young man, I’m sold,” Schottenheimer said.
For now, Jones is competing for the starting right tackle job with Terence Steele, and the Cowboys have said they’re keeping him locked in at that spot.
“We're not going to move Broderick around,” Schottenheimer said while noting Jones would compete at right tackle.
Jones, meanwhile, has already pointed to the back-and-forth between left and right tackle in Pittsburgh as part of what held him back.
“For me, I would just say bouncing around positions, just not being able to get my feet set," he said of a possible cause of issues with the Steelers. "That was a challenge for me.
Coming in, hopefully I can stick to one side. Compete for that job, get comfortable, get familiar with it, get familiar with who I’ll be playing next to and go from there.”
The Cowboys appear to agree with that approach, giving him one side and asking him to settle in. But Adams’ comments make it clear Dallas still wants much more before Jones becomes a real threat for the job.
That’s a notable development after two-plus weeks with the team, especially given that Dallas has now twice sounded skeptical about how Jones was developed in Pittsburgh.
It also comes against a backdrop of mixed results at tackle in Week 1. Steele turned in a strong opener against the New York Giants, allowing just one pressure and no sacks, according to Pro Football Focus. Tyler Guyton also had a good showing in the season opener.
Still, one game doesn’t erase the questions around Steele, and the Cowboys could use Jones as another option if either tackle slips. At the very least, Jones needs to give Dallas something more than the one ugly snap Drew Shelton had as an extra blocker in Week 1 on one of his three snaps.
Jones had stretches in Pittsburgh that hinted at why he was drafted in the first round, but the consistency never matched the billing. The Steelers’ decision to trade him on cutdown day said plenty on its own.
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