I don’t know that the Pittsburgh Steelers had any serious intentions of drafting two cornerbacks during the 2023 NFL Draft, nor that they were looking for a particular profile. While they obviously wanted Joey Porter Jr. and evaluated him as a first-round talent, the only reason they came away with the similarly built Cory Trice Jr. in the seventh round is because teams were scared off by his medicals.
Regardless of how or why they got here, however, they are both now Steelers cornerbacks. If they weren’t paired by design, at least veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson sees them as in keeping with the current trend around the league at the position.
“These guys are tremendous athletes”, he said of Porter and Trice, according to video taken by Amanda Godsey, un a recent locker room media session during OTAs. “Big, strong. I told these guys they are the new-day-and-age cornerbacks, because this is what NFL GMs and teams are looking for: big, long guys who can run and who have those physical attributes”.
“It’s definitely fun to have these young guys around”, he added jokingly, “because maybe it could help me play three more years”. Peterson signed a two-year contract with the Steelers this offseason, which would take him through his 14th year. He has previously talked about his goal of playing 14 seasons, so he’s suggesting being around these young players might encourage him to continue playing beyond his current intentions.
Porter is 6’2” and listed at 193 pounds, though he can play heavier. Trice is 6’3” and listed at 206 pounds. Peterson came into the league some time ago fitting a similar mold at 6’1” and 196 pounds. Though the young bloods lack Peterson’s elite 4.3 speed from his early days, they both tested very respectably in the mid-4.4s at the NFL Scouting Combine.
The Steelers obviously anticipate that Porter will be a long-term starter, and hopefully a high-level one. They will of course share the same hopes for Trice, but there’s a reason he was still around toward the end of the draft. He may well prove to be worth far more than his draft pedigree implied, but he will have a higher hill to climb.
It’s not, however, an insurmountable one. A season or two learning his craft behind Peterson and Porter and perhaps he will find himself in a position to ascend into the starting lineup, maybe even take on an every-down position.
But this is all lofty speech for a pair of rookies just going into the third week of OTAs. We have no idea what the future holds for them. All we know is that they possess the sort of attributes that NFL teams of today are willing to take their chances on, and that gives them a leg up.
