Pittsburgh Steelers second-year CB Joey Porter Jr. played coy when asked about their plans in coverage. The former second-round pick spent the second half of his rookie season covering opponents’ top receivers but would not say the Steelers planned to do that again this season.
Well, as he admitted following Sunday’s win over the Atlanta Falcons, Porter did that against WR Drake London. And he was pretty pleased with the outcome, as you might imagine. London, the former top-10 pick, finished the game with just two catches for 15 yards on three targets. The Steelers and Porter held him to without a reception in the second half. His first reception came against Damontae Kazee after the Falcons motioned a bunched Darnell Mooney out wide, leaving London in the slot.
Asked by Dale Lolley jokingly if London played at all, he said, “You tell me”. Lolley writes for the Steelers’ website that Porter smiled when told the receiver’s numbers when he asked, “What was his stat line?”.
“Yeah, he did a little warm-up today. It was good”.
The 32nd pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Joey Porter Jr. was not an overnight sensation. He began his rookie season as the Steelers’ dime defender, eventually graduating to nickel. Toward the second half of the year, he finally ascended to full-time starter. Not long after, he began asking for and receiving shadow coverage assignments—with success.
The Steelers’ acquisition of Donte Jackson via trade is the reason many wondered if their strategy might change. When they only had Joe Haden at cornerback, he consistently shadowed top receivers. After they added Steven Nelson, however, they played sides.
It’s plausible that with Porter and Jackson they could have played sides—and I’m sure they do and will—but they clearly scouted London with Porter in mind. “That was the whole plan”, Lolley quotes him as saying. “We’ve got the same body types. That was the main thing”.
London, the third-year receiver, is 6-4, 213 pounds, whereas Porter is 6-2, 193 pounds. In comparison, Donte Jackson is only 5-10, 180 pounds. When asked before the game about the discrepancy, Porter vouched for Jackson’s ability to defend bigger receivers. He noted that Jackson covered Mike Evans his whole career playing in the NFC South.
The Steelers hope Joey Porter Jr. is the next true star of this defense, having already shown such potential during his rookie season last year. They clearly believe he is capable of being a lockdown corner, already trusting him with crucial assignments last year.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean the Steelers will have Porter shadow somebody every week. As he noted, the Falcons’ top receiver, Drake London, has a certain body type that fits his game. If the Steelers were to play the Rams, would he shadow Cooper Kupp? I would guess not. Jackson had a fine Steelers debut himself, after all, showing why they acquired him.
