For two full seasons that general manager Omar Khan has been in charge of the Pittsburgh Steelers, there’s been quite a bit of roster turnover. The offense is one of the youngest in the league, barring QB Russell Wilson. The defense now has some solid young pieces to build around for the future with many of the current stars getting up there in age.
Bleacher Report’s David Kenyon put together a list of the best young building blocks for the Steelers. It came down to WR George Pickens or CB Joey Porter Jr., but he ultimately went with defense and the promising young cornerback.
“Offense or defense? Flip a coin. Pittsburgh’s choice is between receiver George Pickens and corner Joey Porter Jr., and—while either is reasonable—I lean toward the latter,” Kenyon wrote. “Porter yielded 7.1 yards per target as a rookie, defending 10 passes and missing only three tackles. He finished fifth in AP Defensive Rookie of the Year voting.”
Alex Kozora and I actually had a debate post on this very topic the other day with Kozora arguing for Pickens and me taking the side of Porter. There are good reasons to lean toward either player, but I leaned toward Porter as Kenyon did in this article.
Porter, like Pickens, is 23 years old. He is entering the second season of his young career, but already has a ton of momentum after a very impressive rookie campaign. He didn’t start right away, but once he cracked the starting lineup in Week 8, it was pretty clear that he needed to be a mainstay on the starting defense. By his second start, he began following opposing teams’ top receivers beginning with DeAndre Hopkins and the Tennessee Titans. He held up tremendously well against a bunch of really good WR1s for the remainder of the season.
The Steelers have had issues drafting and developing cornerbacks over the last decade-plus, so it is extra important that they appear to have struck gold this time around.
There are a lot of talented receivers in this league, and having a lockdown corner like Porter can completely change how the defense is able to defend certain teams. Without Porter, the outlook of the defense would be much different right now.
Porter recently listed his top five cornerbacks in the league and had himself at No. 5. Normally, that would just be your typical bravado coming from a player who believes in himself. But if he can pick up where he left off last season, that top-five placement may not look all that unrealistic.
Mike Tomlin often talks about the jump that players can make from year one to year two. They have a full offseason to prepare, with the experience of knowing how to best prepare their body, mind, and spirit for the rigors of the upcoming season. The fact that there is likely more meat on the bone for Porter gives him all the upside in the world and makes him a very important building block for the Steelers moving into the future.
