The hopes were extremely high for Joey Porter Jr. entering his second season in the NFL. A high second-round pick from the 2023 draft, it took a while for Porter to see the field, but once he did as a rookie, he was dynamic. He was locked in and barely allowed any notable passing statistics as a rookie.
The hope was for a leap forward in year two, and there was talk from the media, fans, and even himself that he could ascend to being a top cornerback in the league this year. For a Steelers defense that needed a top dog at cornerback, this would have been a welcome result.
If you look at just his raw stats when being targeted, they are actually pretty stout. While not as elite as his rookie numbers, Porter has yet to be credited with a touchdown and is only allowing a quarterback rating of 82.8 when the quarterback tests him. Considering that he is regularly going up against the top receiver on a team, those numbers are good.
The issue with Porter is the same issue that many analysts, myself included, saw while he was in school. Porter is gifted with rare size and impressive length, and while those traits made him a unique prospect, it also led to him often getting grabby in school. While he would naturally beat worse competition, when he faced off against some of the better college receivers, he had a tendency to use his length to get a hand on someone far too early.
That issue has been amplified since becoming a pro. He was grabby as a rookie and it cost him and the team. It has only gotten worse in year two and was highlighted with six penalties called on him against the Bengals. Multiple times those penalties extended drives and gave Cincinnatti the ball at the goalline because of his blunders.
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Worse yet, Porter has doubled down on his style of play. He claims that the league is targeting him because of his style of play and that there isn’t much that he needs to change. That is an immature response from a young player capable of great things.
I’ve said multiple times this year that Porter is a good cornerback, but he needs to separate himself as a great one. Constant penalties won’t do that for him. As stated, his actual play in coverage is good, but when he starts to slip with penalties, he seems to pile onto himself.
Frankly, I struggle to see what the team should do this year with Porter. You can’t justify outright benching him given the fact that he plays like your top cornerback, but those penalties are killing this team. This offseason has to be dedicated to changing his style of play. If he can’t he will never cross that bridge as an actually great cornerback.
At this point in the season, expecting major changes to his game seems unlikely. If he has another high-penalty game though, you need to consider rotating Cory Trice in some more, assuming he comes off IR this week. He has a similar body type and looked good in very limited work earlier this season.
Ideally, we see Porter clean up his game somewhat between now and the end of the season with an offseason focus on changing how he plays. If he remains stagnant though, you can’t justify keeping or paying him as your top cornerback. He is plenty young enough to change, but it is up to him to get his game cleaned up.
