Although Pittsburgh Steelers rookie CB Joey Porter Jr. has been impressive in training camp, he isn’t guaranteed a starting role. And that is a good thing, according to Ben Roethlisberger. The former Steelers quarterback said the fact that CB Levi Wallace and Patrick Peterson can play in front of Porter this year could be huge for his development.
“The best thing for Porter is going to be that you don’t necessarily need him right now,” Roethlisberger said on his Footbahlin’ podcast. “We don’t need him this year. You don’t need him to come up and step up because [of] Levi Wallace and Pat Pete. Those guys are veteran guys that are playing really good football right now. Porter gets to come in and learn, play. There’s no pressure on him right now to come be the man, the number one DB. He could be [cornerback] three right now and be just fine. Be ready if someone goes down and let him learn and grow. That’s a position that you want your cornerback in. You want your cornerback to come in and not necessarily have to play right away and learn.”
While Porter was the Steelers’ pick at No. 32, Roethlisberger is right that he does not have to play right away. Last season Peterson showed he can still play at a high level even at the age of 32, and Wallace was a consistently good cornerback last year who was even able to contribute in the turnover department.
As Roethlisberger said, cornerback is a hard position. The NFL is built for offenses with rules protecting the offense, making it hard for defenders, especially cornerbacks who have to cover wide receivers. Defensive holding and pass interference get called way more often in the NFL than in college and that was one area Porter struggled with in college. While there is no indication in training camp that he is having a problem being too grabby, it is something to monitor.
If Porter was thrown into a starting role early and struggled it could kill his confidence. But if he was used as a backup and in sub-packages he could get valuable playing time while also not being thrown on an island for 60 snaps a game.
However, if Porter proves he is better than Wallace or Peterson, then he should play over them. Obviously training camp is training camp, but if he is performing at a high level in preseason and into the regular season, he should become the starter. Porter has a ton of talent and if he shows he is capable of playing 60 snaps a game at a higher level than either Wallace or Peterson then he should.
The goal for the Steelers is to win the Super Bowl every single season, it is The Standard head coach Mike Tomlin always talks about. If that means playing a rookie, play the rookie. But he has to earn it.
Roethlisberger is right in that the fact Porter doesn’t have to start is huge. It can be great for his development to see limited snaps and learn his rookie year. But if he earns more snaps, he should get them.
