A first-round tackle on the second team
Broderick Jones started 38 games in three seasons in Pittsburgh. He spent this preseason with the reserves. That gap between draft status and depth-chart reality is what made him available, and Dallas moved on it earlier today.
ESPN reported the agreement, pending a physical: Jones and a 2027 fourth-round pick head to the Cowboys, with third- and sixth-round picks from the same draft going back to Pittsburgh. Three picks total change hands in a deal built almost entirely around 2027 capital.
Jones was a first-round selection in 2023 and has lined up at both left and right tackle for the Steelers. Neither spot stayed his. Pittsburgh spent the 21st pick in April on Max Iheanachor to play right tackle, where he has been competing with Dylan Cook, while 2024 first-rounder Troy Fautanu has worked on the left side. Two first-round tackles taken in consecutive drafts left the 2023 version of that investment with nowhere obvious to stand.
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McCarthy knows the buyer
Mike McCarthy is entering his first season as Steelers coach after his years in charge in Dallas. Few people understand the Cowboys’ habit of hoarding offensive linemen better than the man who spent half a decade watching them do it. Selling a surplus tackle back to that front office is the kind of trade that works because both sides know exactly what the other values.
Terence Steele handled most of the right tackle snaps for Dallas last season. Tyler Guyton, a 2024 first-round pick, has drawn praise through the preseason. Adding Jones gives the Cowboys another body who has already survived NFL Sundays rather than a project.
What it could look like on Sundays
Should Jones take over at right tackle, Dallas would line up four first-round picks around center Cooper Beebe. That is an unusual concentration of premium draft capital in one unit, and it reflects a decade of Cowboys drafting policy more than any single move.
The timing matters too. Teams must reach the 53-man limit on Sunday, and a trade agreed the night before gives Dallas a player who does not have to clear waivers or wait his turn.
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