Since stepping into the starting lineup, rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. has been a great find for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Porter has become a lockdown corner for the Steelers, giving Pittsburgh a true No. 1 cornerback at a position of serious need. The numbers back that up. Since stepping into the starting lineup in Week Eight against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Porter is playing at a high level.
Entering Week 14 against the New England Patriots, Porter found himself as the No. 7 cornerback in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. Along with that lofty ranking, Porter also has the best Successful Coverage Over Expected (SCOE) data, which looks at how well each coverage defender performed on non-targeted coverage snaps, as we grade every coverage defender’s ability to prevent separation whether they are targeted on the play or not, according to PFF.
“The first-round rookie consistently prevents separation and has allowed just a 38.5% completion rate on throws into his coverage. In Week 13, Porter allowed just one catch for 15 yards on three targets, and he now has a 20.5% forced incompletion rate on the year,” PFF’s John Kosko writes regarding Porter.
On the season, Porter has allowed just 17 receptions on 40 targets for 253 yards and a touchdown, allowing a completion percentage of just 42.5%. He’s been as good as any cornerback in the NFL, bar none. Along with allowing just one touchdown, Porter has one interception and five pass breakup on the season.
After his performance against the Cardinals, allowing just one catch on three targets, Porter had another strong week on Thursday against the Patriots. In the loss to New England, Porter allowed just two receptions on four receptions for just 28 yards, breaking up a third-down pass in the process, nearly coming up with an interception later in the game, too.
Along with a league-best SCOE, Porter has the second-best completion percentage allowed at 42.5%, just behind Miami’s Jalen Ramsey, who has played less snaps and seen fewer targets come his way.
Not only that, Porter just isn’t allowing receivers to get much separation due to his length and physicality, which is exactly what the Steelers were aiming for when they selected him in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Penn State. That length and physicality is showing up weekly as he continues to thrive in press-man coverage, taking away one side of the field consistently for the Steelers.
Though he continues to have some issues with penalties, he is developing at a fast rate for the Black and Gold. That’s very promising for Pittsburgh long-term.
