Pittsburgh Steelers rookie CB Joey Porter Jr. has been impressive throughout the offseason, particularly in training camp. One person he’s been impressing is former Steelers running back and current scout Merril Hoge, who praised Porter’s willingness to grow and work on his weaknesses.
“His play at training camp has been outstanding. His growth and his willingness to grow, which is really the important part. It’s players that know that they have a lot of room to grow and they’re willing to do that and they’re willing to put themselves in a position to grow. Meaning you’re gonna get exposed sometimes cause you’re learning, you’re working on things that you need to work on. And he’s done that, and I’ve been impressed by that, that he wants to work on his weaknesses and make them better,” Hoge said on the Zach Gelb Show on CBS Sports Radio earlier this week.
It’s not a surprise to hear that Porter has been someone who really wants to work on his improvement. He was the first guy to practice every day, getting work in on the JUGS machine.
He’s also been attached to veteran CB Patrick Peterson like a moth on a flame, learning as much from the former All-Pro as he possibly can.
He comes from a football family, with his dad obviously a Steelers legend. So he knows and understands what it takes to make it in the league, and that’s hard work and fixing any major weaknesses as soon as possible. For Porter, he’s looking to fix and improve his weaknesses before he even steps on the field for a regular season game, which shows an impressive level of awareness of what he needs to work on and improve.
One of the biggest strikes against him coming out of Penn State was his hands, but that’s one weakness he’s taken no time to prove wrong in the NFL. He had two interceptions during training camp, including a diving effort against QB Kenny Pickett, while he also intercepted Buffalo’s Matt Barkley in Porter’s first preseason game last Saturday.
If he can continue to play the way he did against Buffalo, Porter is going to emerge as a good corner for the Steelers, breaking a drought of poor drafting at the position by the team that’s gone on for far too long.
The Steelers still have plenty of opportunities for guys to get better in practice before they take on the San Francisco 49ers on September 10, so Porter is going to have the ability to get even better and continue fixing the holes in his game before things count for real.
While he’ll likely start as the team’s third outside cornerback on the depth chart, the Steelers can mix and match their defense, and Porter is going to get ample playing time. If he keeps up the level of play that he’s shown in the preseason, he’ll push for a starting role at some point in 2023.
The early returns on Porter make his addition to Pittsburgh more than just a feel-good story. By all accounts, his work ethic is awesome and he’s going to end up being a great player for the Steelers.
