Entering the Week Nine matchup against the Tennessee Titans, Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. wanted all the smoke when it came to dealing with star receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
Though he was making just his second NFL start, Porter wanted to shadow the future Hall of Famer, one with 884 receptions for 11,802 yards entering the matchup. He requested the assignment from the Steelers and head coach Mike Tomlin.
To the Steelers’ credit, they gave him the opportunity. Porter delivered.
The Penn State product shut down Hopkins, allowing just one reception for 17 yards on five targets. On the night, Hopkins had just four receptions for 60 yards total in the 20-16 Steelers’ win.
Now a week removed from the assignment and the strong overall game, Porter was quite reflective Thursday from inside the locker room at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. He stated shadowing a receiver like Hopkins was stuff that he dreamed of as a kid and was appreciative of the Steelers giving him the opportunity to fulfill a dream.
“It was fun. It was definitely stuff you dream of as a kid,” Porter said to reporters from inside the locker room Thursday, according to a tweet from 93.7 The Fan. “I was glad coach put me in a position to do that. I feel like I did a pretty good job and will keep moving forward with it.”
Porter certainly did a good job. He shut down Hopkins, playing a good game overall.
The grades from the game don’t seem to line up with that strong performance though. According to Pro Football Focus, Porter graded out at a 55.8 overall in the win over the Titans, with a coverage grade of just 65.4. Those were his lowest grades since Week Four on the road against Houston when he played just 10 snaps.
Porter was dinged for the three penalties he had in the game and the two missed tackles, but outside of that he was stout in coverage, as the raw numbers show. He took Hopkins away and shut down one side of the field all night, playing like a true lockdown cornerback that the Steelers hope he can be long-term.
Kudos to the young piece for wanting the challenge. That’s the right mentality to have at the position. Things appear rather promising moving forward at cornerback for the Black and Gold with Porter leading the way.
