Joey Porter Jr. is still the Pittsburgh Steelers No. 1 cornerback. But Donte Jackson has been a quality No. 2 and, like SS DeShon Elliott, a key defensive offseason acquisition. So much so that DC Teryl Austin says the team is travelling Porter against top opposing wideouts less often in 2024, confident that either cornerback can make a play.
“A lot of that speaks to the way that [Donte Jackson] is playing. That allows us to be maybe a little bit more stagnant, not have to chase guys all over the field,” Austin said Thursday via a team-provided transcript. “We know Joey has that capability if we do get a situation where we think these two guys matching up on these two guys is good for us. That’s not out of our pocket. Just hasn’t shown up so far this year.”
Porter emerged as the team’s top cornerback midway through last year after working his way into the starting lineup. His first shadowing came against Tennessee Titans WR DeAndre Hopkins in Week 9, shutting him down in the second half of a Steelers win. Pittsburgh followed a similar game plan the rest of the season, routinely pitting Porter on the opposing No. 1 wideout.
For years, the Steelers didn’t shadow. Mostly because they lacked the high-end talent it demands. Instead, their cornerbacks played sides of the field, always aligning on the left or right side depending on their skill set and strengths. Now, Pittsburgh is in the opposite situation. Two corners they trust enough to take on any receiver no matter how the Steelers align.
Not only have Porter and Jackson played well, their flexibility to align all over the field has been key. Both are comfortable lining up on the left and right side and in the slot. Our charting doesn’t fully capture “shadowing” but it notes alignment. Porter might not always be travelling but the team is shuffling its corners around. Here’s the alignment of both this season.
Joey Porter Jr.’s Alignment
LCB – 173 snaps
RCB – 215 snaps
NCB – 17 snaps
Donte Jackson’s Alignment
LCB – 183 snaps
RCB – 158 snaps
NCB – 5 snaps
A fairly even split for both. Which does speak to both moving around a fair bit but doesn’t necessarily detail who is taking the No. 1.
Focusing on Austin’s main point, the Steelers are clearly more comfortable with their top two corners than what they had last year. A rookie in Porter and a mixture of Patrick Peterson and Levi Wallace. Quietly, the Steelers made serious changes to their cornerback room in the offseason. Cutting Peterson, not bringing Wallace back, and when they opened 2024, Porter was the only returning cornerback (Cory Trice Jr. did return from IR while James Pierre was brought back midseason). Pittsburgh’s changes here have paid off with Jackson playing solid football and NCB Beanie Bishop Jr. ascending.
