The Pittsburgh Steelers believe Joey Porter Jr. is their next lockdown cornerback, as they reiterated on Sunday. The second-year stud followed Atlanta Falcons WR Drake London during the game, and London had very little impact. For all he has done already, though, DeShon Elliott knows there’s still a long way to go. Especially if the young man wants to reach his very lofty goals.
“I’ve told Joey this. I said, ‘If you are serious about being the greatest corner that Pittsburgh has ever had, then you need to take each day serious, meticulously, and just day in and day out get in that book, study your tape’”, Elliott said on Steelers Nation Radio.
Drafted 32nd overall a year ago, Joey Porter Jr. ended his rookie season covering the Steelers’ top opponents. He began the year seeing light work as a dime defender, but consistently proved up to every task.
Now he is virtually at the summit in terms of assignment, already responsible for the best receiver on the field. Porter’s next step for the Steelers is perfecting his craft and making more plays. The Falcons didn’t target him much in Week 1, and that’s not entirely by coincidence. But the great ones also make plays on the ball and take it away.
“He has intangibles, obviously”, Elliot said of Porter. “I told him, ‘Bro, I played with Jalen Ramsey, and you have the size. You have the ability to get your hands on somebody at the line, and you have the ability to really lock guys down’”.
Elliott repeated his advice to Porter, saying he must take each day like it’s his last. He believes that is how the greats approached the game and how they perfected their craft. As for Porter’s season debut, Elliott said he “had a pretty good game”.
Officially, Porter made two tackles, but some outlets charge him as missing a couple, too. He struggled with his tackling early in his rookie season but seemed to clean that up over time. The Steelers can’t afford to see him backslide in that area, especially while he addresses his frequent penalties.
Still, I don’t know that Joey Porter Jr. even has a chance of being the Steelers’ greatest cornerback. After all, they have had some pretty great ones, and we don’t even have to talk about Hall of Famers. How about Ike Taylor, or even Joe Haden, of more recent vintage? Haden is the last player they regularly trusted to shadow top receivers.
And then there is someone named Mel Blount, whom I heard was once pretty good. There was Rod Woodson, and before both of them, there was Dick Butler. The Steelers have three cornerbacks in the Hall of Fame, so Joey Porter Jr. has quite a lot to live up to.
