Grade the trade: Cowboys take a chance on former Steelers first-round pick, OT Broderick Jones

There was excitement for the Pittsburgh Steelers when they drafted Georgia offensive tackle Broderick Jones with the 14th overall NFL Draft pick in 2023. They even traded up to take him.

The excitement ran out Saturday when the Steelers reportedly traded Jones to the Dallas Cowboys . The Cowboys sent a third- and sixth-round pick to the Steelers for Jones and a fourth-round pick, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

Jones had dealt with a neck injury and had not been the player the Steelers thought they were getting. He had struggled to become a reliable tackle. He was in the mix to start for the Steelers this season but when Max Iheanachor, this year's first-round pick by Pittsburgh, made his preseason debut Thursday then Jones became expendable.

For the Cowboys, it's one of the chances they often take on players who were graded highly coming out of college but didn't work out with their first team.

The Cowboys have a solid line but that's mostly on the interior. Left tackle Tyler Guyton has not played up to his first-round billing through his two seasons, Terence Steele is a serviceable right tackle and there isn't much proven depth behind them.

Jones can be a backup at either tackle position. He has not been great in the NFL yet but he is just 25 years old and is an upgrade over what Dallas had at backup swing tackle. Jones has a big medical red flag after spinal fusion surgery last year, but the Cowboys appear comfortable with that risk.

Trading back from the third to fourth round and sending a sixth-round pick isn't cheap for a tackle with a rough health history and also struggles on the field. But team owner Jerry Jones likes reclamation projects, and Broderick Jones is an insurance policy at both tackle positions, which profile as the Cowboys' weakest two positions on offense.

Steelers move on after pick didn't work out

It's hard to move on quickly from a pick in the first half of the first round, but the writing was on the wall when the Steelers took Iheanachor in the first round this season.

Jones' spinal fusion surgery last year put his future in doubt, though he came back to play this preseason. Instead of holding onto Jones to be a backup at either right or left tackle, the Steelers decided they had seen enough from Jones and recouped some draft value for him.

It was a good return for the Steelers for a player who likely wasn't going to start and is in the final year of his rookie deal after his fifth-year options was declined. It stings to admit a big mistake on a valuable pick, but the Steelers did fine in the trade.