Steelers' Gerald Alexander Detailed How He's Helping Joey Porter Jr. Overcome His Biggest Flaws

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ young cornerback Joey Porter Jr. is entering a critical year in his NFL career. In his first two seasons, Porter has shown incredible potential and has truly energized Steeler Nation with his confident, physical style of play. He's already earned respect across the league for his ability to line up against top receivers and compete at a high level, showing no fear in big moments.

However, the one glaring issue that continues to hold Porter back is his tendency to draw penalties. His aggressive coverage style, while effective, has led to costly flags that can swing the momentum of a game. If he can learn to walk that fine line between physical and reckless, there’s no question Porter has the tools to become one of the elite cornerbacks in the league.

To help him take that next step, the Steelers brought in new defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander, who has a reputation for developing young talent. Speaking with reporters during minicamp at the team’s South Side facility, Alexander explained that one of his primary focuses is teaching Porter how to stay aggressive while playing within the rules. If the young corner can clean up the flags without losing his edge, the sky’s the limit for what he can accomplish in Pittsburgh.

"Joey does a great job. I think he's one of the elite guys at the line of scrimmage as far as disrupting releases and getting hands on and stuff like that, and so it's really post that," Alexander said. "Now it's time just to trust his transition, trust his process, trust his coverage ability. And then obviously when he is in the position to be able to defend the ball down the field, it's getting his eyes up and challenging that and going for the ball, instead of trying to think about, 'How do I keep the receiver from not receiving the ball?'"

Porter excels at disrupting receivers at the line of scrimmage with his physical press-man coverage, but his coach, Alexander, notes he struggles with transitioning to downfield coverage, often leading to penalties. 

Alexander highlights Porter’s tendency to focus on stopping the receiver rather than playing the ball, which contributes to his high penalty count and missed opportunities for pass breakups. He truly believes he can help Porter fix those critical flaws.

"Making sure that we're getting our eyes back and playing the ball and not necessarily playing the receiver, especially when we're in good positions to do so," Alexander said. "You want to play to win versus playing not to lose. You're not thinking about failure, you're thinking about how do I put myself in position to finish this play, versus preventing him from making one."

He advises Porter to trust his coverage skills and challenge the ball downfield to reduce flags and improve effectiveness. This aligns with fan concerns about penalties and inconsistency, suggesting that with coaching and a mindset shift, Porter can refine his technique and become an elite cornerback.

In the 2024 season, Pro Football Focus gave Porter an overall grade of 55.0, ranking him 161st out of 222 qualified cornerbacks. That’s not ideal for a player the Steelers expect to lead their secondary as their top cornerback. Much of that low grade was tied to penalties and technique issues, and if Porter can clean those up, his performance grade should see a significant improvement.

Steelers' Darius Slay Is Going To Help Joey Porter Jr.

A key addition that could help Porter take that next step is veteran cornerback Darius Slay. The 34-year-old is joining the Steelers to help lock down the opposite side of the field and provide much-needed stability. Slay brings years of high-level experience and is expected to play a major role both on the field and in the locker room as a mentor to the younger defensive backs.

Slay has already made it clear that helping Porter grow is one of his main goals in Pittsburgh. His presence gives Porter a valuable opportunity to learn from a proven Pro Bowler who has succeeded at the highest level. With the right guidance and continued development, Porter has every chance to elevate his game and live up to the expectations of being the Steelers' number one cornerback.

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