Patriots proven right as passed-on draft prospect struggles in preseason

In the months leading up to the 2023 NFL Draft, speculation suggested the Patriots would inevitably select an offensive tackle with their first-round pick. They held their highest first-round positioning in several years and were in a prime spot to take an immediate starting offensive lineman to fill out their questionable roster.

Several tackles were connected to the team all the way to draft night, like Paris Johnson Jr., Peter Skoronski, and Darnell Wright. But the most discussed player of all was by far Broderick Jones, the 6′ 5″, 311 lbs. swing tackle out of Georgia.

He was one of the highest touted players of the 2023 class and was one of the players projected to possibly be available by the time the Patriots were on the clock. And when it was their time to pick, he was right there for the taking.

Instead, the Patriots traded back with the Steelers, who ended up picking Jones with their pick, and the Patriots took Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez.

Besides the initial shock that the top cornerback prospect fell to pick 17 and New England lucking out to draft him, there was a lot of chatter about Bill Belichick's decision to forgo taking the much-needed lineman and draft a defensive player instead. That became an even bigger point as the head coach, and GM took defensive players in the next two rounds as well, waiting until round 4 to take the first offensive lineman.

Although Gonzalez looked worth skipping on the offensive help, the Patriots are in a similar position over a year later, making it look like they could really use a player like Jones right now. But based on how the second-year tackle looked during preseason this month, Belichick might have known what was in store if they had chosen the Georgia alum instead.

Broderick Jones' preseason struggles make the Patriots decision to take Christian Gonzalez instead an even greater move

Maybe it's just preseason, and how a player performs in these games shouldn't hold too much weight, but Steelers fans have had growing concerns about Jones all summer, which came to a head during Pittsburgh's latest game against the Bills last week.

It has become such an issue that reporters have asked Jones about his health in the days since, hoping he may be dealing with an unknown setback to explain his weak play. But they didn't receive the answer they were looking for, creating even more worry about his career trajectory on the team's offensive line.

There's plenty of time for things to change, especially since his rookie season was filled with far better performances than what's been seen this offseason. But if Jones continues to play this way, Belichick is looking even better to have passed on him last year.

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