When CB Cameron Sutton left the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency last offseason, they needed to restock the shelves. They started the next era of their secondary with the drafting of CB Joey Porter Jr. in the second round of the draft, the pick they got from the Chicago Bears in the Chase Claypool trade.
Porter was forced into duty in Week Seven against the Los Angeles Rams due to an injury to Levi Wallace and has been the full-time starter since then. He has played 100 percent of the defensive snaps the last four weeks. Overall, the early returns on Porter have been good. Maybe even better than the already-high expectations.
According to data from Pro Football Focus, compiled into a chart by Jrfortgang on X, Porter is already in the upper echelon of all cornerbacks in the league.
The X-axis shows separation prevented in man coverage while the Y-axis shows the same in zone coverage. The top right of the chart is where you want to be, signifying that you are excelling in both types of coverage. Porter is in that upper right quadrant and is one of the best corners in the league in preventing separation to opposing wide receivers.
Porter has a great, lengthy frame and his athletic profile from testing at the NFL Combine suggested great promise for the rookie. The fact that he is already pairing that athletic profile with the know-how necessary to be an effective corner in the NFL is great news for the Steelers. Even more impressive, he is doing this against some of the top competition in the league.
He requested to cover DeAndre Hopkins in Week Nine and fared extremely well, holding him to five yards on one reception. That led to Porter getting to shadow opposing teams’ top receivers. He had other good showings against Amari Cooper and Ja’Marr Chase as well. With Chase out this week, Porter told the media that he would like to follow WR Tee Higgins this Saturday against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Higgins will present a new challenge to Porter as he stands 6-4. He has formed a connection with QB Jake Browning as of late, too. This will be a matchup to watch for the game and another important box for Porter to check.
He has had some rookie struggles. He is among the most penalized defensive backs in the league, but it is easy to live with that when his play is otherwise stellar. Per Seth Walder on X, Porter is allowing the second fewest yards per route run to opposing receivers of all outside corners in the league.
