Joey Porter Jr. was one of the biggest stories for the Pittsburgh Steelers over the course of the 2023 season. He didn’t earn a full-time starting role until Week 8, but he quickly turned into the Steelers’ top corner once he did. In his second start, he asked Mike Tomlin if he could follow WR DeAndre Hopkins around. Tomlin admitted that he thought Porter was crazy at first, but he liked the confidence. Tomlin often talks about running to the challenge and not away from it. He ultimately granted Porter’s request.
That was the beginning of Porter shadowing opposing teams’ top receivers every game. This change was overwhelmingly positive for Porter and the Steelers. DK Metcalf was really the only receiver to have a decent game against him as Porter became a lockdown corner against the likes of Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Amari Cooper, and others.
Entering Year 2, it is reasonable to assume that Porter will continue in that role with a year of experience under his belt and high expectations. Porter was asked if this is the plan after Monday’s practice.
“I would hope so,” Porter said in a video posted by Post-Gazette Sports on YouTube. “I think so. I really don’t know.”
It isn’t overly surprising that he’s not fully aware of the regular-season plan yet. The team focuses on itself this time of year and doesn’t get too deep into game planning for preseason games, let alone the regular season.
When training camp opened, Donte Jackson was notably covering George Pickens throughout the first few practices. Tomlin stated that they were playing left-right for the corners, and they would start to get into game planning and moving players around later in camp.
But Jackson is a better player than Levi Wallace or Patrick Peterson a year ago. Maybe it isn’t quite as necessary to move Porter around. Steelers cornerbacks have traditionally stuck to sides rather than shadowing players and moving around, but Porter’s unique talents called for it last year. If they have more confidence in Jackson, could that lead to less shadowing for Porter?
It sounds like Joey Porter certainly wants to continue in that role based on what he said. I think he probably will shadow opposing teams’ best wide receivers. If he locked down top receivers as a rookie, imagine what he is capable of if he makes the second-year leap that Tomlin always talks about.
