Much of the Pittsburgh Steelers fanbase wouldn’t have batted an eye if if the team had selected former Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr. in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft. But the Steelers felt no sense of urgency to reach for Porter and instead made the smart move of waiting it out and landing Porter with the first pick of the second round (No. 32 overall).
Porter is an impressive athlete with ideal NFL length and height. He is a pure boundary cornerback who specializes in press-man coverage. What does this mean for the Steelers? With Levi Wallace on one side and Patrick Peterson on the other, Porter has time to work with head coach Mike Tomlin to iron out some shortcomings in his game before he is thrown into the mix.
While we have been vocal about our concerns with Porter, getting him in the second round is much easier to take. Landing offensive tackle Broderick Jones in the first round filled the Steelers’ main need, which gave the Steelers the freedom to take Porter here.
