The Steelers are now in Latrobe at Saint Vincent College for the 2023 installment of training camp. They are coming off of a 9-8 season during which they broke in their new quarterback, Kenny Pickett, finishing the year strong by winning seven of their last nine but coming up short of the postseason.
They’ve done a great deal to address what they identified as their shortcomings during the offseason, which included addressing the offensive and defensive lines as well as the secondary and the inside linebacker room, which is nearly entirely different from last year.
From the first day of training camp to the last, there are going to be plenty of questions that need answered, including several battles for starting roles. Which veterans might be vulnerable to release? Who are the sleepers who will emerge in camp and make a run at ta roster spot? We’ll try to frame the conversation in relevant ways as long as you stick with us throughout the season, as we have for many years.
Question: Will CB Joey Porter Jr. be the every-down starter in the season opener?
Our own Alex Kozora wrote in his training camp diary yesterday that he got the feeling—as he did the day before with OT Broderick Jones—that he is watching a guy who is going to start from day one. I don’t think anybody would be surprised if either of these things were to happen. But they are jobs that need to be earned.
They’re not yet, not for the first-round pick nor for the junior Porter, but both seem to be making very good progress and heading in that direction. It’s easier for the latter than the former, since you’re not going to rotate left tackles, but you can play a variety of different defensive backs in a game.
But when it concerns Porter, what we’re now talking about is being the every-down starter, not just a rotational guy. Is he going to be one of the defensive backs who is on the field for every, or nearly every single snap, as soon as his first official NFL snap?
It’s easier to make that speculation following a day in which he ended practice with a diving interception against the first-team offense to end a two-minute drill. And sure, he’s lost his share of reps here and there, even if it’s been going against George Pickens a lot. But everybody is going to lose reps. It’s as much how you respond.
So far the young man has seemed to take everything well, in-stride, within the spirit of competition. He also appears to have that hunger for competition himself. He’s fine with losing a rep as long as he gets to go back and try to win the next and the next and the next.
If Porter does start, then that would mean Levi Wallace is displaced in that role and either becomes the rotational third cornerback (with Patrick Peterson moving around in sub-packages) or falls back to a depth/reserve role. Wallace, coming off his best professional season, has seemed to have a quietly solid camp as well.
