The Pittsburgh Steelers appear to have struck gold when it comes to their 2023 second-round cornerback, Joey Porter Jr. He didn’t start until Week 8 but played nearly 100 percent of the team’s defensive snaps from that point forward. He took on the unusual task of shadowing opposing teams’ top receivers, starting with DeAndre Hopkins in Week 9, and passed almost every test thrown his way. He even received some Defensive Rookie of the Year votes for his efforts.
Donte Jackson—a six-year NFL veteran —was acquired via trade at the start of free agency and had some very complimentary things to say about Porter entering his second season.
“He’s a football nerd. He asks a lot of questions. He answers a lot of questions ’cause I had a lot of questions for him being new to the defense and stuff like that. And he understands everything,” Jackson said on the first day of training camp in a video posted on the Steelers’ YouTube channel. “I’m just excited to see him keep growing as a player. He’s [the] ultimate professional at such a young age. You can tell that he’s been around the game for a long time in his life.
“I know he’s gonna be at the top of this position [for] years to come.”
Mike Tomlin often talks about the jump that players take from Year 1 to Year 2. Rookies do not have the full offseason to prepare for football. They have to focus on things like preparing for the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine or traveling for pre-draft visits with various teams. Now, Porter had the full offseason to prepare, physically and mentally, for his second year.
How do you prove that you are a top cornerback? By going against the best receivers the league has to offer and locking them down. The Steelers haven’t had a cornerback follow receivers around in quite some time, but they entrusted a rookie with that task. Along with Hopkins, Porter locked down the likes of Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Amari Cooper. All of whom are among the top 10-15 receivers in the NFL.
Jackson should be an upgrade over Levi Wallace or Patrick Peterson from last year, and the defense as a whole got healthier and added talent throughout the offseason. If the front seven can speed up the clock for quarterbacks to get their passes off, that will aid Porter even further in being a lockdown corner with less time for receivers to get open.
When a six-year veteran is speaking this highly of a second-year player in just the short time they have spent together, it is worth listening to the praise. Porter could be one of the big breakout stars of the 2024 Steelers defense.
