The Pittsburgh Steelers could have easily drafted CB Joey Porter Jr. in the first round without causing a commotion. That he lasted until the first pick of the second round and fell into their lap was a much-needed coup. And they have Chase Claypool to thank for it, because trading him landed them the Chicago Bears’ second-round pick.
Claypool, who is now receiving overtures from the CFL, turned into a true No. 1 cornerback. At least, Porter showed enough signs of that as a rookie to generate enthusiasm moving forward. While they brought him along slowly, he finished the year strong.
Porter opened his rookie season as a dime defender before graduating to a nickel role. Around midseason or shortly before, he took over a full-time starting role. It wasn’t long after that he began asking for and receiving shadow assignments against opponents’ top receivers.
He held his own surprisingly well in most of those matchups, enough to earn praise. He received a couple of votes for the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, something only a few Steelers have earned before.
Porter’s biggest concern moving forward is controlling his hands. He drew a disappointing number of penalties last season, particularly for holding and pass interference. To his credit, he measurably improved his tackling form over the course of the year.
I do wonder if we’re not getting ahead of ourselves with Porter just a bit. We’re already assuming, or at least some are, that he is their next great shutdown guy. They haven’t even had one since Ike Taylor, with a brief interlude from Joe Haden.
Quarterbacks didn’t test him very often last year, which is nice, but the defense presented softer options. Patrick Peterson, for example, and Levi Wallace, by comparison. Notably, offenses began attacking the middle of the field more following injuries at the linebacker level.
One area in which Porter hopefully grows is his opportunism. He only came down with one interception last year, and that may have been his only real shot. He needs to put himself in more positions to take the ball away. I doubt that offenses continue to leave him unchallenged since a target just once every 9.3 snaps in coverage. He’ll have more opportunities to make plays in 2024, make no mistake. How many does he make versus how many he allows? His 20.2 snaps per reception allowed ranked third, but, hey, Peterson ranked first last year, so consider that.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are weeks away from the 2024 NFL Draft, which means it’s time to review last year’s class. The first under new general manager Omar Khan and assistant Andy Weidl, their class generally garnered favorable reviews. Of the seven players they drafted, notably, all of them remain with the team. Additionally, three of them are starters (arguably four) and five in total are significant contributors.
