Player: CB Joey Porter Jr.
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: The Steelers’ most successful rookie of the 2023 season, Porter had an active role from the first game to the last. While he didn’t look like an All-Pro every week, he showed that he has the stuff of a lockdown cornerback. If only he can get less handsy, that will help him out, but he did show growth in improving his tackling.
While it didn’t break their playoff losing streak, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ rookie class did help them get to the playoffs. By year’s end, they had four starters and five contributors from their rookie class. The only question is if they continue in that direction.
The most successful of the rookies was their first of two second-round draft picks, CB Joey Porter Jr., drafted 32nd overall. The Steelers had a decision on their hands with the top pick of the second round: take the player they covet or trade back to add valuable capital.
They took the player, and that’s looking like the smart move. It didn’t take Porter too long to establish himself as the Steelers’ best cornerback. Though he started as a dime defender, working his way up to nickel, he was a full-time starter for the majority of the year and came to regularly draw the toughest assignments.
At first, he had to approach the coaching staff. Would you let me cover this guy? Eventually, it became a given. “Is that even a question?”, he recalled that head coach Mike Tomlin saying when he approached Tomlin about covering Buffalo Bills WR Stefon Diggs.
Although he only intercepted one pass on the year, he also only allowed one touchdown. He more than held his own most weeks, giving the Steelers play from the cornerback position that they had not seen since they had Joe Haden at his best.
Not that he was without his faults. I mentioned at the top that he had issues with penalties, mostly for drawing them for defensive holding and pass interference. That is still a problem and the biggest issue he will be facing this offseason.
But perhaps we can take some encouragement from the improvement that he made as a tackler. His tackling was a problem, for sure, and it contributed to multiple negative plays. He said that his father, Joey Porter Sr., was not happy about it at all. No wonder it was a priority to get it right. Now he has to keep it right while continuing to grow in all areas.
With the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 season at an end in a bitter loss to the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card Round, it’s time to look to the future. There will be plenty to wrap up over the next several months as players come and go, including re-signings, releases, draft picks, perhaps trades, and who knows what else.
We will also inevitably take stock of who had good seasons, who had bad seasons, who improved their position, who hurt theirs. In case you haven’t noticed, the NFL has long turned itself into a 365-day business (366 during leap years), so we’ll always have something to discuss.
