When the Pittsburgh Steelers selected CB Joey Porter Jr. with the first pick of the second round in the 2023 NFL Draft, they got a big physical corner who they hoped could develop into a shutdown corner at the NFL level. He earned a starting role in Week Eight against the Jacksonville Jaguars due to an injury to Levi Wallace and played well enough that he earned a full-time starting role moving forward. He has shadowed some of the NFL’s top receivers now in Ja’Marr Chase and DeAndre Hopkins, and held up very well in those matchups.
According to Pro Football Focus, he has 36 targets into his coverage, allowing 15 receptions for 225 yards and a touchdown. He also has one interception and four pass breakups. His play has been good enough to earn him a 70.7 overall defensive grade, including a 75.3 coverage grade. These numbers are very solid for a rookie, especially given the level of competition he has been up against. There is one area of his game, however, that is cause for concern.
Porter has committed ten penalties this season which is now tied for the second most among defensive players in the NFL. Four of those penalties have been declined, but that is still a significant amount considering he wasn’t a full-time starter until Week Eight. Ahead of Porter on the list is CB L’Jarius Sneed of the Kansas City Chiefs, with 15 total penalties and six declined. Tied with Porter is Charvarius Ward of the San Francisco 49ers. Those two players have played over 200 snaps more than Porter this season, so on a per-snap basis, Porter is actually leading the lead in defensive penalties.
The most frequent penalty called against him is defensive pass interference with three. He also has two defensive holding calls, two face mask calls, two defensive offsides, and one illegal use of hands. All six of the accepted penalties have given opposing teams a first down. On Sunday against the Cardinals, Porter was called for pass interference in the end zone on 3rd and goal. That gave the Cardinals a fresh set of downs, and two plays later, James Conner rushed up the middle for a touchdown.
He had six pass interference calls on him during his junior year at Penn State. He cleaned it up a bit his senior year, but the amount of contact allowed in college is a little different than the NFL, and those penalty issues have popped back up in a big way throughout his rookie season. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin told reporters a couple of weeks ago that Porter has been working hard to address his penalty issues. When it comes to a rookie, you take the good with the bad, and fortunately, the good currently outweighs the bad. That being said, cleaning up his hand usage and learning what he can and can’t get away with will be top of mind moving forward.
