Joey Porter Jr. thinks he’s the best cornerback in football. Though it’ll take more time for him to truly reach the podium, he might be closer than you think. Even as a wide-eyed rookie, there was no one better than Porter in big-time situations.
I’ve begun re-watching all of Porter’s targets from his rookie year. After halfway through, I realized he seemed to excel on “money downs,” third and fourth down when the defense is trying to get off the field. I asked our Clayton Eckert to pull data from Sports Info Solutions (SIS) to compile info on all CBs targeted at least ten times on third and fourth downs in 2023. There were 105 corners who qualified.
Of that group, Porter ranked third-best in QB rating against, giving up just a 20.6 QB rating when targeted in those situations. Per SIS, here are his stats.
Porter Targeted On 3rd/4th Down: 4-of-22, 59 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT – 20.6 QB Rating
Only two cornerbacks with double-digit targets fared better: the New York Giants Cor’Dale Flott (9.7 QB rating) and the Los Angeles Chargers Asante Samuel Jr. (10.4 QB rating). But looking at the data, Porter allowed a much lower completion percentage and was targeted double that of Flott and Samuel, both only thrown at 11 times on money downs.
To illustrate Porter’s success, below is a list of cornerbacks targeted at least 20 times (for a larger sample size and to make for a shorter table) and their QB Rating against.
Cornerbacks With 20-Plus Targets (3rd/4th Down) – 2023
| Player/Team | 3rd/4th Down Targets | QB Rating Against |
|---|---|---|
| Joey Porter Jr./PIT | 22 | 20.7 |
| Paulson Adebo/NO | 24 | 32.5 |
| L’Jarius Sneed/KC | 28 | 39.9 |
| Darious Williams/JAC | 28 | 44.1 |
| DaRon Bland/DAL | 28 | 44.2 |
| Charvarius Ward/SF | 32 | 48.2 |
| Eli Apple/MIA | 25 | 49.6 |
| Carlton Davis/TB | 20 | 49.8 |
| D.J. Reed/NYJ | 27 | 53.2 |
| Deommodore Lenoir/SF | 20 | 58.5 |
| Alontae Taylor/NO | 20 | 60.2 |
| Stephon Gilmore/DAL | 31 | 61.0 |
| Cam Sutton/DET | 23 | 61.5 |
| Amik Roberts/LVR | 20 | 62.5 |
| Benjamin St-Juste/WSH | 27 | 63.8 |
| Zyon McCollum/TB | 21 | 63.8 |
| Donte Jackson/CAR | 22 | 64.6 |
| Ahkello Witherspoon/LAR | 30 | 65.3 |
| Denzel Ward/CLE | 20 | 68.5 |
| Darius Slay/PHI | 23 | 69.8 |
| Greg Newsome/CLE | 23 | 79.4 |
| Patrick Surtain II/DEN | 35 | 81.3 |
| Deonte Banks/NYG | 26 | 84.1 |
| Kendall Fuller/WSH | 22 | 101.3 |
| Tre Herndon/JAC | 20 | 104.6 |
| Jaylon Jones/IND | 22 | 108.1 |
| DJ Turner II/CIN | 27 | 114.6 |
| Tyrique Stevenson/CHI | 31 | 123.9 |
| Levi Wallace/PIT | 24 | 126.0 |
| James Bradberry/PHI | 26 | 129.8 |
Couple of takeaways:
– Some context. Pro Football Reference, quarterbacks had an average passer rating of 86.4 on third and fourth down last season. To offer a little baseline and reference point to all this data.
– Porter isn’t just in first place. He’s well ahead of the field. A QB rating of 20.7 compared to second place, the New Orleans Saints’ Paulson Adebo and his 32.5.
– A couple of current Steelers make up this list. Cam Sutton had a tough year last season but posted a respectable 61.5 QB rating on money downs for the Detroit Lions. The traded-for Donte Jackson wasn’t far behind at 64.6. One who didn’t fare so well was Levi Wallace, second-to-last on this list with an ugly 126.0 QB rating against. He’s now left for Denver.
Taking this a step further, I went through my charting to compare past years. I didn’t have Clayton pull the SIS data for 2021 and 2022, and my charting metrics can differ slightly from other outlets. But how does Porter stack up against recent Pittsburgh corners?
Steelers CBs Targeted 3rd/4th Down (2021-2023)
| Player/Team | 3rd/4th Down Targets | QB Rating Against |
|---|---|---|
| Ahkello Witherspoon (2021) | 10 | 7.1 |
| Joey Porter Jr. (2023) | 22 | 20.7 |
| Patrick Peterson (2023) | 15 | 60.1 |
| Levi Wallace (2022) | 19 | 75.7 |
| Cam Sutton (2022) | 17 | 90.4 |
| Levi Wallace (2023) | 24 | 126.0 |
| Cam Sutton (2021) | 14 | 131.6 |
| Joe Haden (2021) | 9 | 158.3 |
Porter finishes second on the list only behind Ahkello Witherspoon and his great finish to the 2021 season. But he had less than half the targets Porter did. Patrick Peterson fared well last year, while Levi Wallace did fine in 2022. Wallace struggled a lot last year, while Joe Haden was miserable in 2021, allowing a perfect passer rating against (nine completions on nine targets, 122 yards, and two touchdowns).
Whether comparing Porter to his team or the NFL, he grades out excellently in these metrics. He wasn’t as shutdown on first and second downs (86.1 QB rating against), but when the snaps mattered most, Porter came up big. He’s poised for a big 2024, though he’ll be tested even more as a sophomore, knowing he’ll constantly draw the opposition’s top wideout.
