There has been a ton of hype surrounding cornerback Joey Porter Jr. when the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted him with the first pick of the second round of the 2023 NFL draft.
Porter is not only a legacy pick for Pittsburgh as his dad Joey Porter Sr. is a Steelers legend but most NFL draft pundits considered the pick a bargain at No. 32 overall. During training camp, the Steelers have been rotating Porter, Levi Wallace and Patrick Peterson in and out of the starting lineup but when the team released its first depth chart of the preseason, Porter is listed as second team with Wallace keeping his starting spot.
Coming out of Penn State, the one dig on Porter was his lack of interceptions. He has quieted those critics quickly in camp with interceptions coming in practice nearly on a daily basis. Porter plays with a ton of confidence and although he’s been on the wrong end of a few big plays, his best quality is a short memory and a willingness to come back better on the next snap.
Porter will make his NFL debut on Friday in the team’s first preseason game. We expect him to eventually win the starting job but Pittsburgh has always given veterans the starting spot initially even if it is inevitable that they eventually will lose that spot to a rookie.
