Pittsburgh Steelers rookie CB Joey Porter Jr. faced some tall tasks during his rookie season. He’s faced wide receivers like the Cincinnati Bengals’ Tee Higgins and the Seattle Seahawks’ DK Metcalf. On Sunday, when the Steelers head north to take on the Buffalo Bills during Wild Card weekend, Porter may face his toughest test yet: Bills WR Stefon Diggs.
When Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin met with the media on Thursday, he spoke about the tall task that Porter faces when he lines up against Diggs on Sunday according to transcripts published by the Steelers.
“Joey’s been progressing…” Austin said. “Obviously, if he’s going to guard [Diggs] and be in the vicinity of him, he’s going to have his work cut out for him the entire day. You can’t take a second off with Stefon. If you do, all of a sudden, he’s down the field somewhere else, and you’re looking for him.”
Since Diggs was drafted in 2015 by the Minnesota Vikings, he’s played in 136 career games and caught 810 passes for 9,995 yards, an average of 12.3 yards per reception, and 67 touchdowns. He surpassed both 100 catches and 1,000 yards this season, marking the fourth-straight season of 100+ catches and his sixth-straight season of 1000+ receiving yards.
Diggs is still one of the premier wide receivers in the NFL, even in his ninth season. Austin remembers watching Diggs come on the scene in Minnesota while he was with the Detroit Lions. What made Diggs special back then is still what makes him such a headache for defensive coordinators, according to Austin.
“Stefon is a premier route runner in this league,” Austin said. “I happened to be at Detroit when Minnesota drafted him. He wasn’t a high draft pick, but he jumped on the scene like nobody’s business. You could tell right away that he could run routes, catch the ball, super competitive. So, we’ve got our work cut out for us.”
Austin, Porter, and the Steelers faithful will be hoping for a repeat of Porter’s performance against Higgins and the Bengals late in the season. When Porter matched up against Higgins, Bengals QB Jake Browning only threw the ball to Higgins twice and completed one pass for 15 yards.
While weather will certainly be a factor on Sunday afternoon, the Steelers could still use Porter locking down one of the absolute best receivers in the league. He’s already shown a knack for shadowing top receivers this season, and he’ll need to do it again.
