Pittsburgh Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr. is entering just his second season in the NFL, but he’s the undisputed top cornerback for the Steelers. In a young cornerback room, he’s working on being a leader. Porter spoke to media after the Steelers’ final OTA session today and mentioned taking on more of a leadership role.
“Really trying to grow as a leader in my room, we don’t got a lot of old guys who play corner in our position besides [Donte Jackson] and Cam Sutton that just came in. But you know, trying to be a mentor to the younger guys and show them how to come in and make plays early,” Porter said via Steelers.com.
It’s not an unfamiliar role for Porter, as he assumed a leadership role during his time at Penn State once he got comfortable.
“Yeah, you know it was my role a little bit at Penn State when I got to be my person up there, so it’s the same thing here.”
Last season, the Steelers had a veteran in Patrick Peterson who could take on a leadership role in the room and help mentor Porter, but it’s unlikely Peterson comes back with the signing of Cameron Sutton. While Donte Jackson, Sutton and Anthony Averett are all veterans who are more experienced, Porter will be the top guy in the room and someone who younger guys turn to.
Even though Darius Rush and Cory Trice Jr. were in the same draft class as Porter, neither have as much experience on the field as Porter. Ryan Watts is a rookie, so the three of them can turn to Porter for advice and look to him as a leader. As the projected top cornerback on the depth chart, Porter is going to have a lot of responsibility, and it makes sense for him to really be the leader of his room.
Even though guys like Averett, Sutton and Jackson have more experience than Porter, none of them were with the team last season, and it’s tough to rely on them to take true leadership roles. Especially given that Averett might not play a lot, Jackson is still getting adapted to the team and Sutton was recently brought back after spending 2023 with the Lions, it makes sense to rely on Porter as the most accomplished cornerback last season and one of the longest-tenured Steelers in the room.
It helps that he has leadership experience at Penn State, and it’s not hard to envision Porter evolving into a guy who players can turn to as a leader of Pittsburgh’s defense.
