Even with Joey Porter Jr. and Darius Slay, Mike Tomlin called Jalen Ramsey the Steelers’ No. 1 CB, to Porter’s dissatisfaction. But it’s not quite as simple as that.
During last night’s preseason game, during which he did not play, Porter fielded a question from Missi Matthews on the Steelers’ sideline about Tomlin saying Ramsey would be the one drawing the top assignments. Matthews asked him if he was one of those who didn’t like the news.
“I’m definitely one of those guys that did not like that”, Porter said—to be clear, with a smile on his face. “But he sat us down. He told us what it is, and I’m gonna get my fair share with the ones, so I’m not mad at it. I’m gonna get my opportunities, and when I do, I’m gonna just make my plays”.
The Steelers selected Joey Porter Jr. 32nd overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. He ascended the depth chart as a rookie, starting from dime packages to every-down player. They view him as their long-term No. 1 CB, but they also acquired Darius Slay and Jalen Ramsey this offseason. While Tomlin hopes Porter learns from them, he also wants to exploit their talents now.
The thing with Jalen Ramsey, though, is he will be playing all over the place. Of the three top cornerbacks, he has the most versatility by far. At the college level, he literally started at least one full season at both safety and nickel. On top of that, he is a lockdown corner—which Joey Porter wants to be. Or sees himself as, but not without something to learn from Ramsey.
“Any kind of knowledge, any kind of game that he gives us and the young guys, we’re all just trying to soak it in. Same with Darius Slay as well”, Porter said of his lessons learned from Ramsey.
Porter did not have the strongest of sophomore seasons last year, making fewer plays on the football and drawing too many flags. While his “decline” has been greatly exaggerated, the reality is the Steelers are not asking him to be their everything in coverage this year. Not with Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay in the mix.
The beauty, as Ramsey sees it, is that Porter and Slay also see themselves as “that one”, as he put it. He sees a lot of players on the Steelers’ roster who have that belief in themselves, in a good way. None of them have shown it yet, of course, since Tomlin has held them all out of the preseason.
The first time we will see the Steelers’ new-look secondary of Ramsey, Porter, and Slay will be the season opener. For all the talk of who will do what and when and against whom, the reality is it will probably unfold on a weekly basis. After all, what purpose is there of letting your opponent know in advance? They believe they have three top cover corners, so receivers will have to prepare for all of them.
