The head coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mike Tomlin, kept the whole NFL world in the dark about his plan for the draft 2023. But he had his eye on the prize for a very long time. The only trouble the Steelers had from acquiring their dream player was from the New York Jets. The Jets did everything they could to make their team worthy of a Super Bowl, as they haven’t had the luck in almost 55 years.
Tomlin, on the other hand, joined hands with no other than Bill Belichick, general manager of the New England Patriots to push the odds in his favor. The Jets badly needed an Offensive Tackle for the team. Hence the face-off.
The battle for Broderick
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The draft for this year had some dramatic twists and turns. While it approached the pick 17, there were plenty of cornerbacks for the Steelers to choose from. The team had their sights set on Georgia tackle Broderick Jones and made a trade with the New England Patriots to move up in the line to pick number 14 in the draft. This move allowed them to leapfrog the Jets. The Steelers were able to recruit the player both of the teams wanted. Earlier today, Tomlin joined “The Eisen Show” where they discussed why the team decided to recruit Broderick.
“We had Broderick as an individual priority,” Mike Tomlin said.”They might be fishing in those waters and so we did what we thought we needed to do to get the player in the position that we coveted it.” He also said in the interview that he is very glad to have found a partner for the trade to go down. He didn’t comment further on the relationship between the Jets and the Patriots.
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Tomlin admired Broderick’s playing style and how he can control his body despite of his height and size. Broderick is definitely a great addition to the Steelers. The Steelers also acquired some new faces for the team in the draft with Broderick. Including Joey Porter Jr. – CB, Keeanu Benton – DL, Darnell Washington – TE, Nick Herbig – LB, Cory Trice Jr. – Defensive Back, and Spencer Anderson – OL.
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Jerry Jones wanted to “screw over” the Jets
The Jets recently drafted Aaron Rodgers to their roster. They really needed an offensive tackle like Broderick on their team. NFL insider Jason La Canfora reported that Bill Belichick let the trade happen just to screw over the Jets. Jason was tipped by an anonymous general manager in the NFL.
Tomlin also said in an interview “I’ll put it this way, there wasn’t a lot of hesitation on New England’s end“. There is no comment made from the Jet’s side. They acquired Iowa State defensive end Will McDonald IV with their 15th overall pick. The 23-year-old DE has 17 tackles, 2 assists, and 25 stops to his name. Signing him to the team still could do wonders for the Jets.
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