Buy Or Sell: Joey Porter Jr. is right to believe he is the best cornerback in the NFL.
Explanation: Asked recently about the best cornerback in the NFL, second-year Joey Porter Jr. reportedly put himself atop the list. The son of “Peezy”, he certainly has his father’s demeanor and confidence. Porter is not the best cornerback in the NFL, at least not now. But perhaps believing you are is a self-fulfilling prophecy and a pre-requisite to such heights.
Buy:
It never ceases to amaze me when people get on the case of an athlete for talking himself up. The simple reality is that you don’t make it this far in the game if you don’t have supreme belief in your abilities. There are probably a couple dozen cornerbacks who believe they are the best in the NFL. Joey Porter Jr. certainly isn’t alone in that.
New teammate Donte Jackson was happy to hear that Porter has that belief in himself. Jackson said he believes he is the best cornerback in the NFL. And these thoughts aren’t unreasonable. Because this type of internal belief is based on what you expect to do in the future. Those on the outside make judgements based on what they’ve done in the past.
And great athletes always expect their next rep will be their best until it isn’t. So good on Porter for being honest with the media, which many players won’t be. Even if they think the same thing of themselves, they prefer to avoid the backlash.
Sell:
There is such a thing as humility in this game. You never saw Heath Miller or Troy Polamalu talk about being the best in their interviews. That doesn’t stop them from actually being the best. And everybody knows that Joey Porter Jr. isn’t the best cornerback in the NFL.
He shouldn’t, either, because it doesn’t do him any good. If you already think you’re the best, then you’re not seeing all the improvements that you need to make. Porter is very talented, and his career is off to a nice start.
But Porter should have the exact opposite mindset if he truly wants to reach where he believes he already is. Well, perhaps not the exact opposite—you do need some confidence. But humility never dropped an interception or allowed a touchdown. We’re just talking silly talk, here. You can’t speak your greatness into existence.
With the Steelers’ 2023 season in the rearview mirror following a disappointing year that came up short in the playoffs once again, it’s time to start asking more questions. Questions about the team’s future in 2024 and beyond. Questions about The Standard.
The rookie class of a year ago was on the whole impressive, but they need to step up into staple starters in 2024. And they likely need a strong influx of talent in both free agency and in the 2024 NFL Draft yet again. In addition to a revisitation of the coaching staff.
These sorts of uncertainties are what I will look to address in our Buy or Sell series. In each installment, I will introduce a topic statement and weigh some of the arguments for either buying it (meaning that you agree with it or expect it to be true) or selling it (meaning you disagree with it or expect it to be false).
