The Pittsburgh Steelers’ rookie class is marching full steam ahead. After a quiet start to their careers, from LT Broderick Jones entering the year as a backup to CB Joey Porter Jr. given a limited role and DL Keeanu Benton not playing a huge number of snaps, the first-year players are turning into big-time reasons why the Steelers are winning.
For Steelers.com writer/editor Bob Labriola, he believes their roles will only grow.
“I would expect both Jones and Porter to have more significant roles when the Steelers return from their bye,” Labriola wrote in the latest edition of his Asked and Answered segment.
Of course, Jones’ role can’t get much more significant. He served as the team’s starting left tackle in Sunday’s win over the Baltimore Ravens. But the point is likely that Jones is going to keep that job, even when veteran Dan Moore Jr. gets healthy. Jones performed well in his first career start and helped keep QB Kenny Pickett’s pocket clean on the afternoon. Even from filling in for Moore in Week Four against the Houston Texans compared to his first start, Jones’ play made a big jump.
Porter saw his role expand for the first time all season. Starting late in the second half, the Steelers used him in an every-down role instead of being used only in dime packages, the team’s plan for him the first month of the year. At times, that meant taking Patrick Peterson or Levi Wallace off the field. While the coaching staff still won’t commit to Porter starting going forward, all signs point to his playing time increasing. Like Jones, Porter stepped up with big plays, highlighted by his end-zone interception that gave the Steelers new life following Gunner Olszewski’s fumble. According to our charting, Porter has allowed just one completion on six targets this season and a QB rating against of literally 0.0.
Pittsburgh will travel out west for a second time this season when it takes on the Los Angeles Rams in Week Seven. If the Steelers want to move to 4-2 on the season, they’ll need guys like Jones and Porter to keep playing well.
