One of the positions the Pittsburgh Steelers have been relatively unsuccessful in finding talent through the draft is cornerback. The misses in recent years far outweigh the hits, with names like Artie Burns, Senquez Golson and Justin Layne failing to make an impact. But the 2023 NFL Draft has the potential to buck that trend, as the Steelers drafted two cornerbacks in Joey Porter Jr. and Cory Trice Jr., who NFL analyst Brian Baldinger believes could start by the year’s end.
“You can’t help but notice him out there,” Baldinger said of Porter on his In The Huddle podcast. “There’s just not many guys playing on the edge built like that. 6’2-and-a-half with long arms.”
He then touched on Trice.
“He is a clone of Joey Porter,” Baldinger said. “He’s 6’2-and-a-half, he can flat-out run. They might end up by the end of the season starting two rookie corners out there that are both cut from the same cloth. Big, long, fast and talented.”
Baldinger believes that Patrick Peterson can be the perfect mentor to the two of them, even though Peterson is “not what he used to be.”
Peterson’s talked about taking a leadership role, and having a veteran and former All-Pro in the room is certainly going to help Trice and Porter develop. While both have gotten rave reviews during the offseason, the idea of both of them starting by the end of the year isn’t one I think many Steelers fans had following the conclusion of the draft.
But it makes sense. Peterson isn’t getting any younger, and he could also move and take snaps in the slot. Levi Wallace is a solid corner, but if Trice and/or Porter continue to play as well as they have seemingly have when the pads come on, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Pittsburgh give them a shot.
James Pierre is still in the corner mix too, but as opposing receivers get bigger, faster and stronger, you need cornerbacks to match. Trice and Porter are big, long and fast and can disrupt receivers at the line of scrimmage while having the length and closing speed to make plays on balls down the field.
While Porter comes into the league with more hype, being selected at the top of the second round after being projected to go in the first by the majority of draftniks, Trice is a good player himself who only fell due to medical concerns. His draft position shouldn’t and won’t preclude him from playing immediately, and his impact could be immense.
Last year, Tariq Woolen, a similarly big, long and fast corner who was drafted on Day 3, picked off six passes for the Seattle Seahawks. While expecting that sort of production off the bat from Trice is silly, it goes to show that his and Porter’s body type can succeed in the league and that later-round defensive backs can make an impact as a rookie. It’s going to be interesting to see how soon Trice gets on the field with consistent snaps because he could make a major impact as a rookie alongside Porter.
