The Pittsburgh Steelers needed CB Joey Porter Jr. to be an asset for the team’s stretch run. Now their top corner, the Steelers have counted on him to take away the opponent’s top wide receiver. More often than not, he’s delivered. Though it took time to get to this point, Porter credits the coaching staff for easing him into the NFL and having him feeling good entering Week 18. Accepting this year’s Joe Greene Award for top Steelers rookie, Porter recapped his season arc.
“It definitely was a benefit,” he told reporters via the Steelers Live Twitter account. It didn’t feel right. As a rookie you want to get out there, you’re eager to make plays with the guys and everything. But they told me along the way we’re holding you for a reason. This is gonna be all meaningful down the long road.”
Despite being a top draft pick, Porter was merely a situational player in the first month of the Steelers’ season. He was only used in dime packages and obvious passing situations, high-leverage moments where he could and did make an impact, making key defensive stops in a Week Two win over the Cleveland Browns but not logging much playing time. Through four games, he had just 58 defensive snaps. To put that in perspective, since then, he’s logged more than that in eight separate games.
But because the team was careful with him initially, Porter avoided the rookie wall and feels great late in the year.
“I definitely thank them for that because this is a long season. I don’t know where my body would be right now, at this moment, if I played all those snaps earlier. I feel like it was the right move.”
It wasn’t until Week Five that his role began to shift. He graduated to seeing nickel package work in the second half of the Steelers’ win over the Baltimore Ravens. By Week Eight, he earned his first start against Jacksonville and began shadowing top wideouts in Week Nine versus Tennessee, shutting down DeAndre Hopkins in a Steelers’ victory.
As noted earlier, Porter became just the third corner in team history to be named Rookie of the Year and the first in nearly 30 years. His future as a top-end corner looks bright, and he should make an even larger jump from his rookie to sophomore year, something DC Teryl Austin seems intent on challenging him on.
“I came in, and I came in hot. [Managing reps] was something that we needed at the time, and I felt like it worked out for the better.”
The restrictions are off now. Porter’s an every-down guy. This game, the rest of the year (if there are any more games to be played), 2024, and beyond.
