Want to know how good rookie CB Joey Porter Jr. has been? When quarterbacks target him, their passer rating is zero. Literally, not figuratively. Zero. Point. Zero.
That’s the stat Pro Football Focus shared earlier this week, one that’s hard to even wrap your brain around. Throw the ball into the ground and your rating is 39.6. Porter’s is much better than that.
That’s confirmed by our charting, too. According to our numbers that will be released over the weekend, Porter has been targeted six times this season. He’s allowed just one completion, a 12-yard catch in Week Three to Las Vegas Raiders WR Davante Adams. Sunday, he recorded his first interception of his career, picking off Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson on a crucial fourth-quarter play that took points off the board and frankly, probably saved the game.
Porter graded out as PFF’s top corner of the week, far better than anyone else on the roster. The other Steelers corners were far down on the list.
Porter’s sample size this year has been relatively small, his playing time limited to dime packages prior to Week Five, and he hasn’t been targeted often. For a rookie corner, that’s typically a good thing. And it’s clear he’s ready to respond when the ball is thrown his way. That began in Week Two when he had two key breakups against the Cleveland Browns, including forcing an incompletion on the Browns’ final play as the Steelers hung on to win.
It seems like Porter’s role will grow going forward. He could see significantly more playing time after the bye, a move that was hinted at by his increased involvement against the Ravens. In the second half, he saw additional playing time at the expense of veterans Patrick Peterson and Levi Wallace. We’ll see if that continues in Week Seven against the Los Angeles Rams. The numbers certainly say that it should.
