One day after head coach Mike Tomlin stated that Joey Porter Jr. has done enough to be a starting cornerback for the Steelers moving forward, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin doubled down on during his session with the media.
According to a tweet from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac, Austin stated Tuesday that Porter is a starter now at the cornerback position, becoming the first rookie in the 2023 draft class for the Steelers to ascend into a starting role.
“It’s what I keep saying: he’s growing, he’s getting better and when it’s time you’ll know it, and it was his time,” Austin said to reporters, according to a tweet from Dulac. “He’s doing the thins we want him to do and we feel comfortable now that he’s able to handle everything.”
Along with some strong play in recent weeks against the Baltimore Ravens, Los Angeles Rams and Jacksonville Jaguars, Porter has taken advantage of some injuries ahead of him to veteran cornerback Levi Wallace, grabbing ahold of the starting job and running with it.
Prior to starting Sunday against the Jaguars due to the foot injury that sidelined Wallace, Porter had played primarily in dime packages, though he started to see significant, consistent playing time against the Ravens and then the Rams in Weeks Five and Seven.
On the season, Porter has 14 tackles, one interception and three pass breakups and has allowed just three receptions on 14 targets for just 32 yards. He allowed just two receptions on four targets Sunday against the Jaguars for 20 yards.
According to Pro Football Focus, Porter grades out at an 81.9 overall on the season, including an 86.7 in coverage. However, he’s had a rough go of things in the tackling department, missing four tackles on the season with a missed tackles rate of 30.7%, according to charting done here at Steelers Depot.
Porter has played just 198 defensive snaps to date, but he has 112 snaps combined in his last two games, including a season-high 59 on Sunday against the Jaguars.
Though he was caught with eyes in the backfield on Jacksonville running back Travis Etienne Jr.’s 56-yard touchdown on the day in the third quarter, he was not at fault due to the blown coverage on the back end by safety Damontae Kazee, who took a bad route and never recovered. Overall though, in his first start he played well, earning a 73.5 overall grade from PFF in Week Eight, including a coverage grade of 81.7 overall.
