Joey Porter Jr. burst onto the scene as a rookie last season. He emerged as a legitimate CB1 capable of shadowing and locking down top receivers of all shapes, sizes, and skill sets. He didn’t receive his first start until Week 8 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but by his second start, he was following around opposing teams’ top receivers.
Mike Tomlin thought he was crazy when Porter first asked if he could shadow DeAndre Hopkins in Week 9 against the Tennessee Titans. Tomlin rationalized it by saying that it would limit his exposure to tackling, but it quickly became clear that he deserved that role. He excelled in a big way.
Porter shadowed Hopkins on 72.2 percent of his routes in that game and held him to just one reception for 17 yards, per Next Gen Stats. Hopkins has long been considered one of the top receivers in the NFL with multiple first-team and second-team All-Pro selections to his name.
That became just the first example of several top receivers he locked down as a rookie. The only receiver that found success against him was DK Metcalf of the Seattle Seahawks. Porter was recently asked if he will be shadowing top receivers again in the regular season. He wasn’t certain but said, “I would hope so.”
During Cameron Heyward’s Not Just Football podcast on Thursday morning, Porter was asked which receivers he looks forward to locking down this season.
“I’m not gonna lie. That’s a tough question because we got some teams this year, and I low-key want all of them,” Porter said. “To be honest, the most is probably CeeDee Lamb, A.J. Brown, too, and [Ja’Marr] Chase. So yeah, we got a couple. I got a list. I got a list for sure.”
Starting with Chase, that is a receiver that Porter already had success against last year. They only matched up once because Chase was out for one of the Steelers-Bengals matchups, but Porter shadowed Chase for 85.7 percent of his routes in the first rivalry game. Chase was held to two receptions on two targets for just 36 yards.
This time, things will be a little different. For one, Porter isn’t going to catch Chase off guard this year. He will also have Joe Burrow throwing him the football this time instead of Jake Browning. But Porter has a year of experience and just had his first full NFL offseason to get in the best shape of his life. That one should be a battle as they grow more familiar with each other.
Lamb should be a particularly fun battle to watch. He led the NFL in receptions by a wide margin last season with a whopping 135. He was also a close second to Tyreek Hill’s league lead in receiving yards with 1,749. Lamb emerged as arguably the No. 1 receiver in the NFL or close to it. He almost had as many games over 100 yards (8) than he did under (9). At 6-2, 200 pounds, Lamb has length and athleticism that will be difficult for Porter. If he can lock down Lamb, he should be able to lock down almost anybody in the league.
Brown is another excellent test. He is 6-1, 226 pounds, but he is very physical. He has the athleticism of a receiver and the physicality of a tight end. His production fell off a cliff towards the end of last season after an extremely fast start to 2023, but that was kind of the story for the Philadelphia Eagles last year in general.
In two career games against Pittsburgh, Brown has logged 12 receptions on 18 targets for 309 yards and four touchdowns. It sure would be nice if Porter could put an end to that trend.
Expectations will be high for Porter, just like they are high for each of those receivers he listed in 2024. If he ends up shadowing as much as he did last season, Porter will have a chance to set himself apart as one of the very best lockdown corners in the NFL if he comes out on top.
