Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr is on the cusp of superstardom.
Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr has proven in short time that he’s a special talent. And entering his second season in the NFL, the expectations are only getting higher.
John Kosko of Pro Football Focus recently ranked Joey Porter Jr. as the third-most physical cornerback in the NFL in 2023. Only A.J. Terrell of the Atlanta Falcons and Michael Davis of the Washington Commanders were deemed more physical.
“Porter brings physicality to the Steelers’ secondary and has proven to be one of the best young cornerbacks in the NFL. When he made contact with a receiver in 2023, he allowed just a 45.3 passer rating and a 38.2% completion percentage,” Kosko wrote.
The second-year player believes in his own hype, too.
During an interview with The Athletics’ Mark Kaboly, Porter declared himself the best cornerback in the NFL.
“Me, for sure,” answered Porter when asked who the best cornerback in the NFL was. “There are a lot of good DBs in this league. Nobody was doing what I was doing, going against WR1s the entire year and locking them down. I don’t care if I am mentioned [among the best] or not because they will hear my name eventually.”
Porter’s bold claim comes from his production against the top wide receivers in the league. Once he was in the starting lineup, the Steelers had Porter shadowing the top receiver of the opposing offense. And, to his credit, he did not give up many big plays.
Porter had a banner rookie campaign in 2023, finishing seventh in NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. The talented corner only gave up 24 catches, 352 yards, and one touchdown on 58 targets – per PFF. Porter allowed a completion on just 47.4 percent of his targets in 2023, which was the lowest among all cornerbacks with 50+ targets. In addition, Porter only gave up 50+ yards in the air in two out of his 17 games during his rookie season.
Porter also allowed just one touchdown pass throughout the 2023 season. Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne’s 56-yard touchdown in the Jaguars’ Week 8 win over the Steelers was the only touchdown that Porter allowed, which came on a busted coverage. With all that being said, there is one major issue Porter needs to fix.
Untimely Penalties
The Steelers cornerback had a lot of penalties in 2023. Porter was penalized 12 times in the season, with over half of them being pass interference or defensive holding. These are back-breaking penalties for any defense, as they give up chunks of yards and an automatic first down. His physical style of play is good, except when it costs the team penalty yards.
This is a minor thing that Steelers coaches have to coach out of him. If he can eliminate the penalties, Porter will likely enter the conversation of the league’s top cornerback. It would be a massive ascension for a player who wasn’t even in the starting lineup one year ago.
It’s impossible to teach Porter’s size and physicality, and certainly not the football IQ he possesses. He quickly became comfortable in his role on the team last year and developed rapidly each week throughout the season. If Porter can clean up the penalties, his ascension into superstardom is guaranteed.
