Joey Porter Jr. played up to his father’s standard as a rookie for the Pittsburgh Steelers last season. The second-round cornerback out of Penn State started 11 games in the 2023 season, eventually earning CB1 duties as he matched up against opposing teams’ top wide receivers. Porter allowed an incredible 45.2% completion rate as the primary defender last season, one of the best marks in the entire league. On top of that, he allowed just one touchdown in coverage last season.
Porter has lots of room to improve in his sophomore campaign, particularly by limiting penalties (he drew 12 penalties last season, with four defensive pass interferences). But veteran corner Donte Jackson certainly believes the growth will come fast.
In an article for The Athletic, Steelers senior writer Mark Kaboly cited a quote from Jackson about Joey Porter’s mentality during OTAs last week.
“He is a football sponge,” Jackson said. “Guys like that, they are always putting the team first. He asks a lot of questions, and he is willing to work on anything you tell him. He will pull you aside in mid-practice and say, ‘Look at this.’ That’s always a good sign when dealing with young football players, regardless of position. You want them to be infatuated with football, and he already is.”
Porter exudes confidence. He truly believes he’s not just the best cornerback on the Steelers but the best cornerback in the entire NFL. But that doesn’t stop him from constantly seeking the wisdom of more experienced players like Jackson. Porter learned from two of the best defensive backs you could possibly take advice from as a rookie last year: Patrick Peterson and Minkah Fitzpatrick. Porter hailed Fitzpatrick’s leadership on the very first day of OTAs last season, referencing how he would “pull you to the side and be like, ‘This is what you need to work on, or you can do X, Y, and Z to get better with this.’”
It seems that these mid-practice advisory sessions really resonated with Porter. According to Donte Jackson, he’s now going out of his way to seek advice from veterans like Jackson in the middle of OTA sessions. It takes a certain level of humility to ask for assistance and advice from a player who is supposed to be the Robin to Porter’s Batman this upcoming season, lining up as the CB2 opposite from Porter on most snaps. Their relationship of respect reflects a secondary that should be well-connected this season, with Fitzpatrick, the star free safety, leading the squad and calling out alignments while Porter does his best to lock down opposing WR1s.
If Porter continues to implement the advice of experienced NFL starters such as Jackson and grow in his areas of weakness, the Steelers may have the next shutdown cornerback on their roster for years to come. He could become the anchor of one of the NFL’s top secondaries in the coming years. The league had better be ready to travel to Porter Island.
