First Call: Steelers O-line coach discusses Broderick Jones' struggles; wide receiver trade talk around NFL

Friday’s “First Call” advances a Lions wide receiver to watch when the Pittsburgh Steelers take on Detroit on Saturday afternoon. The Washington Commanders may be getting back in the Brandon Aiyuk sweepstakes. The Steelers’ offensive line coach is speaking about Broderick Jones’ problems.

And we have a Deshaun Watson update from Cleveland.

What went wrong

Offensive line coach Pat Meyer spoke Thursday about where things went awry for Broderick Jones against the Buffalo Bills in last week’s preseason game.

“Minor technique. Actually, his feet were better,” Meyer said. “It’s just that his punch timing needed to be improved.”

Meyer admitted that Jones’ injured arm is “bothering him a little bit,” but not to the point that he shouldn’t be playing. He claims Jones doesn’t feel the injury as much in-game, and it bothers him more after games.

As far as Jones being the starter at right tackle for now, but also the swing tackle if necessary, Meyer defends the team’s decision in that regard.

“If you’re not a penciled-in, Day 1 starter right away, you’re going to have to play (both),” Meyer said. “He’s so athletic he is able to flip sides. If we need him to be the swing tackle, he can do that. If he starts at right tackle, and something happens to Dan (Moore Jr.), he’s able to play left. So he needs to get reps at both sides. Being a young player in this league, he is going to have to be able to do that. Of course, you want to keep the same guy in a spot forever and ever. That’s ideal. But, a kid being young, he’s going to have to flip and play both sides.”

OK, but Moore is on his first contract too, and he was never capable of doing that. He still is uncomfortable on the right side. So, I still don’t understand why the third-day draft pick, pending free agent from three years ago is getting preferential treatment over the guy who was drafted in the first round last season with a decree from the general manager that he will be a left tackle someday.

And Jones may not have been penciled in as the Day 1 starter last year, but he has been ever since he replaced Chuks Okorafor in the starting lineup a year ago, and he should’ve been this year on the right side if they were going to start the season with Troy Fauntanu on the bench.

If Fautanu was going to be the Day 1 starter on the right side, then Jones should’ve been on the left.

If they think Moore is good enough to start despite the presence of those two on the roster, they shouldn’t have drafted two tackles in the first round in back-to-back years with so many other needs on the team. And they should’ve already extended Moore’s contract if they really think he’s that good.

So, something isn’t adding up with how they are approaching the tackle spot.

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Wide receiver watch

Penn State product Jahan Dotson may have been falling out of favor in Washington. But the Philadelphia Eagles thought enough of him to make a trade to acquire him from their NFC East division rivals Monday.

Many wondered why the Steelers weren’t in on that move before the Eagles since their depth at the position is so thin, and the Brandon Aiyuk trade talks seem to be stalled. But someone who covers the Lions says there’s a pass-catcher to watch on Saturday when the Steelers visit Detroit.

Matt Dery of the “Locked On Lions” podcast joined the “Breakfast With Benz” podcast Thursday. He says to monitor Isaiah Williams during the preseason finale.

“He’s an undrafted rookie free agent out of Illinois who has had a very, very good training camp — a very, very good preseason. The problem is he’s a little bit undersized (5-foot-10, 185 pounds). He’s in the same role as Kalif Raymond and Amon-Ra St. Brown. Those guys were mostly lined up in the slot. The Lions are looking for that outside, bigger body,” Dery said. “Isaiah Williams, if he does not make the team, somebody’s going to grab him and put him on their active roster. He’s good enough to play in this league. He’s really been good. If he was an outside guy and he was a little bit bigger, it would be a no-brainer for the Lions. So, keep an eye on (No.) 83 on Saturday.”

That’s interesting to note. But he still doesn’t sound like anyone capable of fulfilling Diontae Johnson’s former role of being a starting-worthy receiver opposite George Pickens. That’s a player the Steelers still need to find if the Aiyuk trade doesn’t happen.

Since we brought it up

Speaking of Aiyuk … and, really, when aren’t we … that trade of Dotson may have put the Commanders back in play for the disgruntled San Francisco wide receiver.

That’s an idea I advanced on 105.9 The X Thursday when I was filling in for Mark Madden. It’s also something that Michael Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle suggested on KNBR radio.

Latest on Aiyuk from @MikeSilver with Tolbert and @Adamcopes:

"My updated information is that everything is still on the table, including all the trades you've heard about... That Steelers scenario... I wouldn't rule out Washington."

Back and forth we go.

Photo: Sergio… pic.twitter.com/COmmMpSPpm

— KNBR (@KNBR) August 22, 2024

For a while, it was believed that Washington was Aiyuk’s preferred destination since he and new Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels overlapped at Arizona State. But Washington seemed to fall out of the mix in late July/early August, leaving the Steelers, Browns and Patriots as the main bidders for Aiyuk’s services.

Trading Dotson now opens a spot on the depth chart at receiver. It also brought back some more 2025 draft collateral, including a third-rounder next year.

Of course, the Niners have been asking for a receiver back in return for any Aiyuk deal this whole time. Perhaps they weren’t interested in Dotson, but maybe they are in rookie Luke McCaffrey (Christian’s younger brother) and draft picks or Dyami Brown and picks. Or maybe they are thinking less about picks, and they are attempting to bring back Terry McLaurin, who is two years older (28) but signed through 2025, and swapping potential top targets.

Regardless, if the Steelers get left out of this carousel entirely and enter the season with the WR room as is, that’d be a bad look for general manager Omar Khan.

What’s Deshaun doing?

Meanwhile, up in Cleveland, Deshaun Watson is throwing once again. That’s according to the Akron Beacon-Journal.

The quarterback was a full participant in practice for the Browns on Thursday. He was shut down on Wednesday because of “general arm soreness.”

Via Chris Easterling, the Browns went through what would normally be their Friday practice routine in advance of a typical Sunday game. They play the Seahawks at 10 p.m. Saturday in their preseason finale.

“There remains no update on whether or not Watson will start the game. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski has stated multiple times over the past two weeks, the plan is for the quarterback to make his first appearance in a game since last Nov. 12 in the preseason finale,” Easterling added.

The Browns lost their first two preseason games, with Jameis Winston, Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Tyler Huntley sharing duties at quarterback.