Pittsburgh Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr. has won this year’s Joe Greene Award, given to the team’s top rookie of the year. And there was little doubt who would take home this year’s trophy.
Porter is the first defensive player to win the award since LB Devin Bush in 2019. He’s the first cornerback to take home the honors since Chad Scott in 1997. To put that in perspective, Porter wasn’t born until 2000. The only other Steelers cornerback to win the award since its introduction in 1984 was Delton Hall in 1987.
Speaking with reporters following the announcement, Porter joked he’ll hold this award as bragging rights over his father, who lost out to WR Troy Edwards in 1999. The rest of Porter’s career more than made up for it.
A second-round selection out of Penn State, the Steelers turned down multiple trade offers to stand pat and take Porter with the 32nd overall selection, the top pick of Day Two. Pittsburgh acquired the pick from the Chicago Bears in the Chase Claypool deal, a trade that the Steelers won in lopsided fashion.
Porter began the year as a situational player, only seeing defensive snaps in the team’s dime packages. But by Week Five, his role had expanded, and he made his first NFL interception, a crucial end-zone pick to help beat the Baltimore Ravens. His first official start came in Week Eight against the Jacksonville Jaguars and the following game, he shadowed Tennessee Titans WR DeAndre Hopkins, shutting him out in the second half in a Steelers comeback victory. Since then, Porter has often followed the opposing team’s top wide receiver.
Entering Week 18, Porter has started in 10 games, making 43 tackles and breaking up 10 passes in addition to picking off one pass. He’s quickly emerged as the team’s top cornerback and will have that role going forward.
