Early in his tenure with the Pittsburgh Steelers, rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. has flashed when on the field defensively.
The problem has been the lack of reps defensively. That all changed in Week Three on the road in Las Vegas. Porter played a career-high 27 snaps against the Raiders, holding his own with the increased reps in the Steelers’ 23-18 win.
Though some of his reps could be attributed to a Levi Wallace injury that caused him a few plays, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin stated that the Steelers being in more advantageous situations defensively — along with the weekly growth from the rookie — saw Porter get onto the field more in Week Three.
“It’s probably less about Levi’s injury and more about us being in advantageous down and distance circumstances. I think Joey played seven snaps in Week One, for example, because San Francisco was moving it pretty good, and when they were in third down it was third and two, third and three, that nature. Joey’s getting better every week,” Tomlin said to reporters during his weekly press conference, according to video via the Steelers’ YouTube page. “His process is getting better every week, so his floor is getting better, as far as in-stadium play.
“Sometimes that process is aided and accelerated by guys going down, but his uptick in participation has more to do with an uptick in advantageous situations.”
Entering his rookie season, the expectation was that Porter would see the field often in sub-package situations, at least early on.
Through the first two weeks that wasn’t the case as Porter played just 21 snaps in the first two games. Then, in Week Three he saw 27 snaps and continued a high level of play when on the field. In his first three NFL games, Porter has been targeted just five times and has allowed just one catch for 12 yards.
His coverage on Sunday night against Davante Adams on the first drive of the game forced an incompletion and built off a strong Week Two against Cleveland. In that game, he broke up an early third-down pass intended for Elijah Moore and later forced the game-sealing incompletion while in coverage on Donovan Peoples-Jones on the deciding fourth-down play.
Entering Week Four, a real opportunity remains in front of Porter as the Steelers should be in more advantageous situations defensively against a young Houston offense led by rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud. As he continues to get better each week — and hones in on his weekly process — he should be able to push for more playing time.
