So far in training camp, rookie CB Joey Porter Jr. has been a star. He has seen a ton of reps and has been doing really well in almost all of them. Despite this he is a rookie and still has room to grow. Today, FS Minkah Fitzpatrick told reporters one tip he has given Porter: use your length.
“He’s a long dude and every time he’s practicing catching, he’s catching it short arm,” said Fitzpatrick in a post-practice interview posted to Steelers.com. “I told him that going against receivers in the league, they’re gonna extend every single time and beat him to the ball. He has to use his length, his strength, and extend his arms when he’s practicing catches ’cause it’s muscle memory. So if he’s extended his arms that are four feet long, he’s gonna win every ball.”
Porter has been seen often on the JUGs machine working on his hands, something that was a knock on him in college given he only had one interception in four years at Penn State. While lack of ball production doesn’t mean Porter was or is going to be a bad cornerback, having ball production can push you from being a good cornerback to being a great one.
Fitzpatrick is one off the best ball-hawks in the NFL. He knows how to intercept passes with 19 in his career, and now he is passing that knowledge to the rookie Porter. As he said, Porter has long arms, 34 inches to be exact, legitimately has some of the longest in the NFL. This is a huge advantage, but he has to use it.
As Fitzpatrick observed, he is short-arming the ball, meaning he isn’t really fully extending his arms to make catches. This can allow wide receivers to make more combat catches on him as he isn’t using his length to take the ball away from them.
Porter has to practice this so he can use it effectively. Early on, it might not be too effective, and he could drop passes or receivers can muscle the ball away from him as his arms on an elongated state won’t be too strong. But over time they will. As Fitzpatrick said, muscle memory will take over.
Only a rookie, Porter isn’t expected to be a superstar this year. It is going to take time, but with mentors like Fitzpatrick and CB Patrick Peterson giving him pointers to make him a better, more effective player, he should become a Pro Bowl-level cornerback. He has all the physical tools to become one. He just needs to put it together.
