One of the knocks on Pittsburgh Steelers rookie CB Joey Porter Jr. coming out of Penn State was that he only had one career interception. The idea that Porter struggled with catching interceptions made its way into the pre-draft chatter, and it was often cited as a weakness of his. Omar Khan was even asked about it.
But during Steelers training camp, Porter has snagged multiple interceptions, and it’s something he said was important to him.
“I can catch for real,” Porter said via Jeff Hathhorn of 93.7 The Fan. “I always knew that, but I stamped myself this camp with that. Every pick boosts your confidence a little bit, every day I try to go out there and snap one or two.”
He said he wants to quiet the doubters.
“It’s to shut everyone else up,” Porter said. “The outsiders that didn’t think I could catch, wanted to show them I could.”
Porter caught 33 passes on the JUGS machine before practice on Sunday, and every practice he’s among the first players on the field and he always hits the JUGS machine.
It’s worked in his favor during practices, with him a diving interception of Kenny Pickett among his best picks at Saint Vincent College. Porter is proving his hands aren’t a weakness and that he’s a guy who can make plays on the ball, regardless of what happened in college.
He missed Friday’s preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but now that he’s back healthy, hopefully, he will get a helmet for Saturday’s matchup at Acrisure Stadium against the Buffalo Bills.
Porter’s been tested in camp by second-year WR George Pickens, but getting live reps against another opponent is always beneficial for a young player. It would be nice to see Porter get that opportunity sooner rather than later. If it comes against a team that relies on its aerial attack as much as Buffalo and wants to test Porter, that would be even better.
He’s making a push for immediate playing time, and it sounds like the Steelers have gotten a highly motivated and talented player at pick No. 32 in the 2023 NFL Draft. Porter likely fell beyond where his talent lies, and I don’t think anyone in the Steelers organization is complaining about landing him where they did in the draft.
Even with just one collegiate interception and doubts, unfounded as they may been, about his hands, Porter was still a first-round-caliber prospect. If he adds the ball skills and hands he’s shown in camp to his length and physicality as a corner, then he could turn into a really skilled cornerback sooner than expected.
