The 2023 regular season is here! The week of preparation for the Steelers as they face the San Francisco 49ers is underway with head coach Mike Tomlin taking to the podium to address in the media for our beloved Tomlin Tuesday. With plenty of questions asked by those in attendance, it is once again time for a players mentioned article. Remember these are players where a specific question was asked during the Q&A period.

Dan Moore Jr., Broderick Jones, & Cam Heyward

With the release of the Steelers first depth chart of the regular season, Dan Moore has secured the starting left tackle position for the time being over Broderick Jones. Coach Tomlin was asked how he saw the left tackle job play out that allowed Moore to keep the position. In his response, not only did Coach Tomlin mention Jones, but he compared him with the early career of Cam Heyward.

“I thought he played really well. I thought he showed the growth and maturation that that comes with the 1,000 or so snaps that he’s played over the last two years. And so, really comfortable there. Also, really excited about what Broderick (Jones) showed us. And we’re very thoughtful about making sure that he got a lot of reps during the course of development, particularly in preseason stadiums and liked the work that he did there. And so, just feel really good about our left tackle position. I feel really good about Dan’s growth and development. I feel really good about the acquisition of Broderick and how bright his future is. I know oftentimes, depth charts produce stories, maybe what’s wrong with Broderick, etc. There’s nothing wrong with Broderick. There was nothing wrong with Cam Heyward when he watched. If you have a good team, if you have people playing well, oftentimes, it means young, capable guys get an opportunity to watch as they grow and develop. And so, that’s the story, the left tackle position and I feel really comfortable about where we are.”

Desmond King

After the Steelers initial 53 man roster, the next day they added another player in cornerback Desmond King. Coach Tom was asked if he has a vision for how he will use King.

“No, not as I stand here right now, man, we just acquired him, you know, yesterday or the other day. We’ve had one kind of bonus practice. We had the infancy of planned development this week. And so, it’s just a lot of layers to that discussion, our ability to get to know him, how quickly he learns what it is that we do here and in the need component. And so, we’re excited obviously about his acquisition,but I don’t necessarily have an answer to that as I stand here today.”

Joey Porter Jr.

Another Steelers high-profile rookie going into the 2023 season is second-round draft pick Joey Porter. Coach Tomlin was asked if he had similar thoughts on Porter as he did with Broderick Jones and where he has seen Porter grow.

“I do. We’re able to get him a lot of reps, particularly over the last several weeks. Obviously, he missed a game and there’s consequences for that from a development standpoint, but he made a lot of plays in team development in Latrobe. Highly competitive, feel really good about his growth and development and the trajectory of it and what he’s able to provide is not only in the short term, but the long term.”

Kenny Pickett

Kenny Pickett has talked a lot about how defensive coverage dictates where he throws the ball, and Matt Canada also spoke about how if the defense does one thing Pickett should do something specific. Coach Tomlin was asked if this is the way he’s going to run the offense or if he envisions times where is specific person is getting the ball in a specific situation.

“I think that’s largely how everyone plays it. And so, I’m not saying anything earth shattering there. You know, down in and down out, if you look at the totality of the passing game in today’s game, you throw it where they’re not. You throw it where the weaknesses of the coverage lie, schematically. And then secondarily, you look for matchups within that. I just think that’s everyone’s mindset.”

Larry Ogunjobi

After being banged up a lot during the 2022 season, Larry Ogunjobi did not appear in any preseason games in 2023. Coach Tomlin was asked if he’s going to have to take a similar approach this season with Ogunjobi and his playing time.

“I’m not ready to acknowledge that. I’m really focused on what it is we need to do this week and the allocation of reps this week, and so I’m not ready to paint with a broad brush, no.”

Isaac Seumalo, Allen Robinson, Elandon Roberts, Cole Holcomb, & Kwon Alexander

The Steelers added a lot of new pieces during the 2023 offseason. Coach Tomlin was asked if Isaac Seumalo impressed him or if it was what he was expecting. In his response, Coach Tomlin also made the same conclusion about Allen Robinson, Elandon Roberts, Cole Holcomb, and Kwon Alexander.

“Really pretty much what we’re expecting, but not that it hadn’t been impressive. And I can say the same thing about Allen Robinson or Elandon Roberts, Cole Holcomb, or Kwon Alexander. I’ve been really excited about the veteran players that we’ve added in 2023. I’m excited because their NFL experienced and that is helpful to us. But the quality guys and quality teammates. They love football. I think that’s been displayed consistently throughout this process from all of the above guys.”

Mike Tomlin’s complete press conference can be seen here:

Coach Tomlin addresses the media ahead of our Week 1 game against the 49ers. @PNCBank

📺: #SFvsPIT 9/10 at 1 PM ET on FOX https://t.co/dOwLdG0kD3

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 5, 2023