Watching the 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers has been a unique experience. When the team is on offense, it’s been frustrating at times. It’s occasionally been tough to move the ball at all, and even when they have, there haven’t been many big, exciting plays.
The defensive side of the ball, however, has been the opposite. Not only has the unit been effective, ranking top five in the league in points allowed, but they are downright fun to watch. What the offense has lacked in big plays, the defense has more than made up for.
For T.J. Watt, who has arguably been the best defensive player in the league over the last few seasons, Joey Porter Jr. has been a huge part of that. He talked about it yesterday in an interview provided by the team.
“I’m super proud of Joey and his progression,” Watt said. “We talk about having juice and good vibes and he’s brought juice and good vibes to the defense. If we can have fun along the way, that means we’re doing something special.“
The point that Watt made about the vibes and how Porter contributes to that is an important one. Look at the top contributors on this defense. T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward, Alex Highsmith, and Minkah Fitzpatrick. In the case of Watt, Heyward and Fitzpatrick, they are all veterans of the league, and even Highsmith has already cashed in on his first big contract.
And this is where Porter, and also guys like Keeanu Benton come in. They provide the spark that those veterans might not have anymore as they move deeper into their career.
He also looks to lead a bit of a youth movement on the roster, as he’s the highlight of the most promising drafts that the Steelers have had in years, along with Benton and Broderick Jones. Having a guy who’s played as well as Porter on a rookie contract is so valuable for building out the rest of your roster.
Despite his high expectations going into the year, Porter has exceeded even those. Mike Tomlin doesn’t usually love to gift rookies starting spots based on draft pedigree, but he quickly realized this season that Porter was a guy he needed to get on the field as much as possible.
Cornerback was a position of need for Pittsburgh going into this season, and veterans Levi Wallace and Patrick Peterson have largely underwhelmed. It’s been huge for this defense, and this team, that Porter has been stepping up the way he has.
