Pittsburgh Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr. is coming off a rookie season in which he emerged as one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL, but he has loftier goals than just being a good cornerback. In an interview with Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz, Porter Jr. talked about his career goals, with the main being to “throw on that gold jacket” and make the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“I got a list of what I want to do when I got to the NFL. So that’s really my goal, not getting to the NFL, what I want to do when I get inside. Gotta have All-Pro, gotta get some rings, definitely throw on that gold jacket, that’s my reason for playing. I want to be remembered as one of the greats, people to talk about who was a lockdown corner, and I want my name to be in that conversation.”
Porter has the right mindset. While the Hall of Fame is about individual greatness, you won’t make it without some measure of team success, and Porter’s head is in the right place about wanting to win some rings. He saw his father win a ring with the Steelers, and growing up around that environment of success likely helped fuel Porter’s hunger to win and be one of the best players of all-time.
It’s obviously way, way, way too early to say he’s on any sort of Hall of Fame trajectory, but he emerged as Pittsburgh’s top cornerback last season and is entering his second season in the league as the team’s clear-cut No. 1 cornerback. He’s going to be tasked with taking away the top receiver from the opposing team, and if he can start to do so frequently and rack up some Pro Bowl or All-Pro accolades, then we can start talking about Canton.
But the Steelers as an organization are built on a foundation and culture of winning with a league-high six Lombardi Trophies, and for Porter to really make a case for the Hall of Fame, winning in the postseason and getting a ring or two is something that will look really good on his resume. Every player aspires for greatness, but not every player has the foundation of growing up in a winning culture like Porter did with his dad a member of the Steelers and someone who’s been around football his whole life.
He knows what it takes to achieve greatness and be that player who is remembered in NFL history years after his career is over. Porter saw a number of Hall of Fame players with his dad growing up, including Troy Polamalu, and for the sake of the Steelers, it would be pretty awesome if he could achieve his goal and become an all-time great.
