With the 32nd pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Joey Porter Jr., and now the team's namesake is sitting at (+3300) on FanDuel to win the Rookie of the Year. While every Steelers fan would love to see him have a massive impact during his rookie season and win this award, the question is whether it is worth betting on. We’ll take a look at what history shows about winning the award and how that should affect your decision.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. was a standout from Day 1 of training camp in Latrobe, which will only raise the expectations for 2023.
Position on the Field
Porter Jr. has around the 17th best odds to bring home the Rookie of the Year Award entering August 2023, depending on the Pennsylvania sportsbook, and of the 16 players sitting ahead of him, four of them are cornerbacks, and one is a safety. This past draft class was very heavy on the defensive backs, so Porter Jr.’s competition in that aspect alone is substantial.
In terms of the cornerback position and winning the award, it is not something we have seen very often over the years. You might be thinking, “Well, Sauce Gardner won the award just last season,” and while that is true, Gardner became just the third cornerback to win the award since 2000. Gardner also went in with the sixth-best odds to win the award last year, and in a weird way, his winning the award also showed how hard it can be for a cornerback to win.
While the New York Jets cornerback was named the winner, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Tariq Woolen came in third in the voting despite having four more interceptions than Gardner, a touchdown, and just five fewer tackles than the award winner. Coming in third with numbers like those does not bode well for the loaded cornerback class that is set to compete for the trophy this season.
To take it even a step further with the challenges of the position, being able to win the award, Gardner and Woolen became the first cornerbacks to even receive votes on the award since 2017, when Marshon Lattimore won it. That means a cornerback did not receive even one vote for four straight years.
Draft Position
To many people’s surprise, Porter Jr. fell to the second round of the draft, which means four other cornerbacks were taken ahead of him. While this absolutely does set up a chip-on-the-shoulder situation that will perfectly fit the Steelers' hard-nosed defense, it may make things even more difficult for the Penn State product when it comes to winning an award.
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Joey Porter Jr. attending the 2023 NFL Draft, where the Steelers selected him with the 32nd overall section which was the first pick of the second round.
Dating back to 2000, only two players that have won the Rookie of the Year award for defense have been drafted behind Porter Jr. In 2006, DeMeco Ryans won the award after being drafted 33rd overall; in 2001, Kendrell Bell won it after being taken 39th overall. The highest a player has ever been drafted while still winning the award came in 1988 when free safety Erik McMillan won it after being selected with the 63rd pick.
If a player wants to win Rookie of the Year as a corner, they almost have to be drafted in the first round. Ever since 1998, when Charles Woodson won it after being drafted 4th overall, the three cornerbacks that have won since then were all taken in the first round, with Marcus Peters being the closest to Porter Jr.’s pick since he was selected at 18.
Is There Anything Porter Jr. Can Do to Win It?
The good news for Porter Jr. is that he is not competing directly with the cornerbacks, but the bad news is he’s competing with the likes of Will Anderson Jr., Jalen Carter, Tyree Wilson, and more. So what can he do to win the award or at least be in the conversation? Well, for starters, getting consistent playing time is the first step, and from the looks of it, he will at least get the chance of that.
Porter Jr. will likely be battling Levi Wallace for one of the starting CB spots, and there is no denying that he has the ability to make it competitive. Assuming he does win the job and is named the starter, then the next question becomes what does he need to do to at least receive votes. Well, of the last six cornerbacks to receive votes for the award, including the three winners, they all recorded at least 43 solo tackles, and four of the six had at least four interceptions.
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Steelers cornerback Levi Wallace continues to fly a bit under the radar, as he improved throughout the 2022 campaign.
The Verdict on the Steelers Rookie CB
Based on all the information we've just laid out and the fact that Porter Jr. has not secured a consistent role yet, making a wager of any unit size is likely not worth the investment at this moment. The best advice from a gambling perspective is to wait until training camp plays out to see what his role will be and how he’s adjusting to the league. There is no denying he fell into a perfect spot with this defense, but it’s worth waiting to see him live before sinking money into the bet.
