Cowboys OC Questions Steelers' Coaching Staff in Troubling Broderick Jones Update

If Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Klayton Adams' comment on Broderick Jones is any indication, things don't appear to be going smoothly for the former Pittsburgh Steelers first-round selection.

Jones was acquired in a trade with the Steelers on cutdown day and head coach Brian Schottenheimer noted that he is slated to compete for the starting job at right tackle with Terence Steele.

However, when asked about Jones on Thursday before practice, Adams admitted Dallas needs see Jones take a "jump" this week.

He also appeared to question the approach the Steelers' coaching staff took with Jones in the past.

"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 would seem to indicate the Cowboys haven't seen what they want to out of Jones after two-plus weeks with the team.

This is the second time the Cowboys have seemed to indicate that Jones didn't get the best coaching when he was with the Steelers.

Head coach Brian Schottenheimer indicated he felt the same upon Jones arriving in Dallas when he admitted the team must "retrain" Jones.

"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.

We're not sure exactly what happened in Pittsburgh, but Adams' quote on Jones doesn't lend much optimism that he's going to offer any semblance of competition for Steele anytime soon.

What happened in Pittsburgh?

Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Broderick Jones. — Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Broderick Jones (77) against the New York Jets during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Jones struggled with consistency during his time in Pittsburgh. We saw some flashes of his first-round billing, but not anywhere near enough for the Georgia product to cement himself.

The proof is in the pudding, as the Steelers wouldn't have traded him if they truly believed Jones was a starting-caliber tackle.

One issue Jones pointed to was the Steelers moving him between left and right tackle. It's always ideal to keep a young player at one spot and let him focus on that, but that didn't happen with the Steelers.

“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 have wisely decided to allow Jones to focus on just right tackle to see if that can help him progress.

"We're not going to move Broderick around," Schottenheimer said while noting Jones would compete at right tackle.

So far, so good

Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle Terence Steele. — Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle Terence Steele (78) against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Thankfully, Steele had a strong outing in Week 1, when he gave up just one pressures and didn't allow a sack against the New York Giants, according to Pro Football Focus.

But that's just one game and we can't get ahead of ourselves yet. There's still a long way to go before confidence in Steele can be fully restored after a few rough years in a row.

It would obviously be ideal for Jones to get on track in Dallas and offer an alternative to both Steele and Tyler Guyton in case one of them falters in the weeks ahead. As was the case with Steele, Guyton had a good showing in the season-opener.

If nothing else, the least Jones could do is offer an alternative to Drew Shelton, who was deployed as an extra blocker in Week 1 but had an ugly rep on one of his three snaps.

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