New Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy is heavily preparing for the 2026 NFL Draft. To do so, he's brought in almost an entirely new coaching staff, and one of his hires is already receiving some extremely high praise.
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Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. (24) during a regular season game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Pittsburgh, PA.
Star cornerback Joey Porter Jr. was recently on The Blueprint Podcast where he spoke about the new defensive coordinator, Patrick Graham. Porter has been a staple in the team's secondary since being drafted in 2023 from the Penn State Nittany Lions. The 2025 season was a breakout year for Porter and now he seems to like the new coach in charge of the defense.
Porter's 2025 campaign was stellar for several different reasons. He recorded 52 total tackles, one sack, and a career-high 14 passes defended for the Black and Gold. He also was able to reduce the penalties called against him, which paved the way for him to jump up to an elite, shutdown cornerback in the eyes of many fans and pundits.
"But with the DC we got, I think he going to make everything work how it's supposed to, like he got the pieces, he going to put the puzzles together," Porter said. "Like, I got faith in him for that for sure."
Porter now enters his fourth season in the Steel City -- this time with a new DC. The young defender feels the that newcomer has plenty of pieces to work with to create a dominant defense in 2026. McCarthy recently revealed a strategic approach when it came to selecting his coaching staff for his inaugural season in Pittsburgh. Graham did some strong work with the Las Vegas Raiders as it was more their offensive ineptitude that limited the impact of their team overall. In his second year with the Raiders in 2023, Graham helped the unit go from 26th to ninth in the NFL in points allowed.
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Steelers Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham during an interview with Missi Matthews in 2026.
Pittsburgh also made some key acquisitions this offseason in its secondary, especially with the signings of cornerback Jamel Dean and safety Jaquan Brisker. Brisker, who also played at Penn State, happened to play alongside Porter, so it will be a reunion between the two in the 2026 season. This could be part of what Porter eluded to by Graham having the correct pieces to the puzzle, as him and Brisker have the familiarity of playing alongside one another and are both starting to make big names for themselves in the NFL.
Steelers Getting Younger Gives Them A Big Chance To Improve In 2026
The organization received a ton of praise for its free agency period in the 2026 offseason. They moved quickly to not only replace guys on their roster that had gone to other teams when free agency opened up, but also added younger, talented players. Brisker is one specifically that fits that younger profile, as he is just 26-years-old. Dean is nearing 30, but will not turn that age until mid-October during the 2026 season.
Graham also has some young edge rushers to work with on the defensive side of the ball. Pittsburgh is likely to keep their three-headed monster edge rushing unit in tact in TJ Watt, Nick Herbig, and Alex Highsmith. While Porter was most likely discussing how he fits specifically into the puzzle in 2026 under Graham, there are several puzzle pieces on the entire defensive unit for Graham to work with.
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Steelers' Joey Porter Jr. on the sideline during a home game in the 2025 season.
While Graham may not provide the same monumental leap forward in Pittsburgh such as the one he orchestrated in Las Vegas, he does have a lot of young talent to work with on defense. That work done in Vegas may have been a part of the decision by McCarthy to add him to his staff for the Steelers in 2026. It certainly should be an interesting year for the unit under Graham as he starts to work under a new head coach in the Steel City for the first time in almost two decades.
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