By now, most Pittsburgh Steelers fans have probably seen the clip of former Steelers OLB Joey Porter comforting his son, Joey Porter Jr., after the latter unexpectedly fell out of the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. But the elder Porter told Ryan Clark on The Pivot podcast that he was so wrapped up in making sure his son was okay, neither realized the Steelers held the next pick. Had they known, Porter Sr., said it would’ve been a celebration.
“I hadn’t even seen that Pittsburgh had the next pick because I was so worried about the space and the mindset he was in and was trying to make sure he was good,” Porter Sr. said. “But man, if we had just been not tripping, seeing the Steelers was next, I would’ve had enough common sense to say they messed up man, we about about to go home.”
“Now, we talk about it all over, if we would’ve knew that, y’all would’ve never caught that snippet,” he continued. “We would’ve gone back to the spot with Steelers stuff on and not even trip.”
Porter Jr. had a large contingent of family in Kansas City for the draft, and he explained his disappointment came from them not being able to see him walk across the stage as an NFL draft pick. While he may not have had the distinction of being a first-round draft pick, he was able to follow in his father’s footsteps as a member of his hometown organization.
It’s a cool story that Porter Jr. didn’t even realize he could follow his father in Pittsburgh. Obviously, in the moment, the initial disappointment is going to set in, especially given that it was widely expected that Porter Jr. would be a first-round pick. And in the moment, I’m sure the Porter family wasn’t thinking of the Chase Claypool trade that netted Pittsburgh the first pick in the second round.
Thanks to that trade, the Steelers were able to get their dream scenario of adding a first-round tackle prospect and then a cornerback they were very familiar with in Porter Jr. It also allowed Porter Jr. to play for the organization he grew up around and probably dreamed of playing for his whole life.
It was an awesome moment watching Porter Sr. comfort his son after the first round didn’t go the way they expected. It gave us a different side of the player we saw terrorize quarterbacks for all those years, but it’s even better knowing that their collective excitement of Porter Jr. playing for Pittsburgh outweighed the disappointment of not going in the first round.
Porter Jr. had a good camp, and with his preseason debut coming tomorrow night, it’s time to get to work and make his dream a reality. Steelers fans far and wide are going to have their eyes on him, and I’m excited to see how Porter Jr.’s career in Pittsburgh develops. If it’s anything like his father’s, he’ll prove to be a steal at No. 32 overall.
