At some point in his rookie season, cornerback Joey Porter Jr. was going to force his way onto the field with his play.
He did just that in Week Seven against the Los Angeles Rams, playing 53 snaps (78%) defensively in the 24-17 come-from-behind win at SoFi Stadium.
Porter had a couple of big passes defensed in the win, forcing some key incompletions. Though he had issues with his tackling again, missing two stops in the third quarter, the rookie played well in coverage and showed the Steelers he’s ready for a starting role.
Though defensive coordinator Teryl Austin wouldn’t go that far regarding Porter in his weekly session with the media Thursday, the veteran defensive coordinator praised his young cornerback, stating that the better he plays, the more snaps he’s going to see.
““I thought he handled himself well. He did some good things coverage-wise,” Austin said to reporters, according to a tweet via 93.7 The Fan. “It’s what we talked about every week, the better he plays, the more he progresses, the more snaps he earns. He will continue to do that.”
Porter did handle himself well against the high-powered Rams’ passing attack. On the day, Porter wasn’t charged with a completion against, forcing QB Matthew Stafford to go 0-for-3 when targeting him. He also added a pass breakup and was quite physical throughout the day in press coverage and at the catch point when targeted.
That’s what the Steelers believed they were getting when they drafted him at No. 32 overall out of Penn State, and that’s what they got Sunday in Los Angeles.
On the season, Porter has allowed just one reception on 10 total targets for just 12 yards. He has one interception, which came in Week Five against the Baltimore Ravens in the end zone and helped kick-start a comeback, and has allowed a 0.0 QB rating when targeted.
He handled himself quite well against the Rams and earned more playing time moving forward. The Steelers slow-played him to this point in the season, but once the restraints were taken off, he rewarded the Steelers with that lockdown-like cornerback play on the road.
Now it’s up to him to continue to stack strong performances on top of each other moving forward.
