It took long enough, but Pittsburgh Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr. has cemented himself as a starter, having started each of the last two games against the Jaguars and Titans. He’s had moments when he’s shown he’s still a rookie adjusting to the speed of the NFL game with his tackling woes and a coverage bust against RB Travis Etienne. But he’s also proven why he currently is Pittsburgh’s best option as a cover corner, putting clamps on WRs DeAndre Hopkins and Puka Nacua when matched up against them over the last three weeks.
Heading into his third start against the Green Bay Packers, Porter continues to try and prove that he can be a big name in this league for a long time. Fellow CB Patrick Peterson sees that in Porter’s future, noting eerie similarities to himself and his journey as a young defensive back pushing for stardom.
“It’s so pleasuring to watch because I was in his shoes at his age,” Peterson said to the media via video from Amanda Godsey’s YouTube channel. “So, I had those opportunities, and what I think is going to happen is that it’s going to do nothing but grow his confidence. You can just see his confidence grow each and every week the more and more he’s out there on the field. And the sky’s the limit for him. I’m just extremely proud of the steps he’s been taking. You can tell that he wants to be a good player in this league. He wants to be a household name in this league, and he’s been doing everything in his will to make sure that’s going to happen.”
If you were to make an outside cornerback in a lab, he would probably look a lot like Porter. He possesses the ideal height and length that you desire in corner on the perimeter, standing 6-2 and weighing 194 pounds with 34-inch arms. He’s a great athlete, running the 40 in 4.46 seconds while posting 37.5-inch vert and a 10’11” broad. He’s been battle-tested throughout his time in college, facing the likes of Marvin Harrison Jr. and Jaxon Smith-Njigba during his time with the Nittany Lions. He has the size to blanket opposing receivers on the outside as well as the speed and length to recover quickly if initially beat off the line of scrimmage, using his condor-like arms to force incompletions.
Porter has his fair share of weaknesses that he needs to work on, including being a more consistent tackler, but he’s quickly become a legit NFL cover man in his first season. He has the second-best QB passer rating allowed this season and has quickly become Pittsburgh’s de facto CB1, shadowing the likes of Hopkins while having the best results when covering the five-time Pro Bowler and Nacua when his teammates struggled to maintain that same play against those receivers.
Porter was a projected first-round pick last spring but fell right into Pittsburgh’s lap at the top of the second round. Thanks to the trade that sent WR Chase Claypool to the Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh may have found its CB1 of the present and future as Porter ended up staying home to play for his dad’s old team. He will have to continue to prove himself against some of the best receivers in the league with the likes of Ja’Marr Chase, Amari Cooper, and D.K. Metcalf still on the schedule. But Porter is embracing the challenge as he works to cement himself as one of the best young cornerbacks in the game.
