Is Joey Porter Jr. the NFL’s next lockdown cornerback?
The Pittsburgh Steelers sure hope so, anyway. Their second-year starter, Joey Porter Jr., showed as a rookie that he can hang with opponents’ top wide receivers. But those top receivers didn’t always represent the best the NFL has to offer, and he certainly had some issues. For one thing, he has to clean up his penalties, for example.
Porter came along slowly last season, the Steelers gradually working him in. He graduated from dime defender to full-time starter over the course of the first half of the year. Not long after that, he began requesting and receiving shadow assignments, and holding his own in the process.
Now NFL teams have a full season’s worth of tape on him, though, and know what to expect. They will know Porter’s tendencies and will figure out how to exploit them. Every single opponent will know how many penalties he drew last year, and they’ll try to get him to bite.
Porter’s performance as a rookie is undeniable, though, and he should only continue to grow. While offenses learn about him, he is continuing to evolve, sharpening his skills. And it’s not as though he breezed through as a rookie, drawing some tough assignments like Ja’Marr Chase.
This season will pose plenty of challenges from the aforementioned Chase and Amari Cooper within the division, as well as non-divisional receivers like CeeDee Lamb, Davante Adams, and Drake London. But how many opportunities will the Steelers grant Porter for these one-on-one assignments?
The coaching staff seemed to shy away from promising that this year, and that’s partly because of Donte Jackson. Last year, the Steelers knew they couldn’t lean on Patrick Peterson or Levi Wallace in that way. But they believe they have two cover corners now in Joey Porter Jr. and Jackson.
Of course, you don’t necessarily need to follow one player around all day to be a lockdown corner. Guys like Richard Sherman and Nnamdi Asomugha played sides, and they struggled when they didn’t. Porter can move around, and that’s to his advantage, but all he needs to do is shut the guy down across from him, wherever he lines up.
The Steelers’ 2024 season is approaching, following another disappointing year that culminated in a playoff loss. The only change-up in the annual formula lately is whether they miss the playoffs altogether. They have had a long offseason since the Buffalo Bills stamped them out of their misery back in January.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Does Russell Wilson make them a Super Bowl-caliber team, or are they wasting a year? How will the team continue to address the depth chart?
The Steelers are past free agency and the draft and their roster for the 2024 season is coming into focus. They made numerous moves through signings and trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.
