For the first time in his young career, Pittsburgh Steelers rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. played more than 50% of the defensive snaps in the 24-17 Week Seven win on the road against the Los Angeles Rams.
Porter, a second-round pick, played 53 snaps (78%) and looked quite good doing so. He earned praise from head coach Mike Tomlin and teammates following the come-from-behind win in which Porter had a couple of key forced incompletions in the second half, helping the Steelers’ defense get off the field.
Moving forward, Porter might not be listed as the starter — yet — defensively, but his opportunities to see the field at cornerback are only going to increase thanks to his strong play.
That has the young cornerback knowing that he needs to “keep stacking” and taking advantage of every opportunity that comes his way.
“I’ll try to just do as much as I can with the opportunity that I have,” Porter said to reporters Thursday, according to video via Steelers.com. “Last week they gave me a little bit more time to run and I did the plays I needed to, and so I just gotta keep stacking and keep going forward.”
Porter certainly took advantage in Week Seven, grading out at a 67.7 overall from Pro Football Focus, including a 70.6 in coverage, which was his third-highest coverage grade of the season.
On the day, Porter was targeted just three times and didn’t allow a reception against the Rams, pushing his season total to just one reception allowed on 10 targets for just 12 yards. He has the same amount of interceptions (one) as completions allowed, along with two pass breakups.
On the season, Porter holds an 80.4 overall grade from Pro Football Focus and an 82.2 in coverage. Tackling remains a concern though as Porter has four misses on the season and a woeful 30.7% missed-tackles rate, based on charting done here at Steelers Depot.
That number shouldn’t keep him off the field though, considering Patrick Peterson leads the Steelers in missed tackles with six (25% miss rate) and has allowed a 112.8 QB rating against when targeted, while Levi Wallace has allowed 401 receiving yards and four touchdowns in coverage.
Porter should see more opportunities moving forward. What he does with those opportunities is up to him. If he keeps stacking, he’ll be a starter in no time.
