The Pittsburgh Steelers selected the hometown favorite, Joey Porter Jr, with their first pick of the second round, 32nd overall. Porter, was widely considered a first-round draft pick and many Steelers fans were hoping they would draft him with their first-round pick which was at 17.
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Steelers Joey Porter Jr's father Joey Porter Sr. was the face of the 2005 Steelers' defense
However, General Manager Omar Khan continued to work his wizardry and miraculously the Steelers got a pillar on the offensive line in offensive tackle Broderick Jones at #17 and then Porter at #32. After the selection was made, Steelers Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin spoke with the media. One of the questions he was asked was about the lack of interceptions Porter made last season.
While Porter has a lot of impressive attributes, he only had one interception during his four years at the University of Penn State.
One of Porter's biggest strengths is his pedigree, it is constantly pointed out that he grew up at the Steelers facility and understands better than most rookies what it takes to play in the pros. He is long and rangy with good strength, able to play in press or cover packages. Porter makes up for the lack of interceptions in other ways. Recently Steve Jones, who does play-by-play for the Nittany Lions spoke about Porter's abilities.
"You talk about interceptions, but he shut down so many people with pass breakups. Because he's got superior length and really terrific speed. Fewer and fewer passes were going in his direction and that's one of the reasons the numbers aren't what they could be."
Don't let the numbers fool you, Porter has the ability to be an excellent outside corner. Austin certainly isn't worried about those stats.
"He's tall, he's strong, he's long, he gets his hands on receivers. He's a big target to throw over. I remember a long time ago when I was in Seattle and we signed Bobby Taylor, and Matt Hassleback went to throw some balls toward him in practice and goes 'I know I can get it there but he's so long it makes you pause.'"
"That's something with cornerbacks, that length is an issue. He does have a big radius to be able to get back to a ball that he may look out of position. He's got a lot of really good NFL traits. We know the issue in terms of lack of ball production but there's always something to work on. As long as he's good and he's doing all the other things he does well, we will be good with him."
Steelers Are Looking To Porter To Bring Some Outside Assistance
Austin was also asked how important it was to address the outside corner in this draft. He acknowledged that it was a priority.
"It was very important. I love the way our guys competed last year we led the league in interceptions but were in the bottom five in big plays so we want to make sure we get some competition, some help out there so we can eliminate those things."
The Steelers clearly see the potential in the 6'2", 194-pound corner. He has a huge wingspan that aggravates wide receivers. Porter may not have had some of the stats that fans wanted but he has some amazing ones including holding opponents to a 34.6 completion rate in man coverage during 2022 and an overall completion rate of 42.3 percent.
What do you think about the Porter selection? Were you glad he fell to the second round? Were you surprised? How do you think Porter will fit into the defense? Tell us what you think in the comments below!
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