The most popular pick for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft is Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr. It is easy to pair up the need at cornerback with the legacy of being the son of a Steelers legend. This is what Pro Football Focus did for the Steelers in their new mock draft. Here is what they had to say about the pick:
This is almost too good to be true, but the Steelers’ top need by far is at cornerback, and why not take the Penn State product who grew up around the facility where his dad was an elite player from 1999-2006?
Porter’s 34-inch arms enable him to bother wide receivers at the line without overshooting, illustrated by his 81.6 grade in press coverage — which ranked 18th among cornerbacks in the FBS. Pittsburgh keeps it in the family and hopefully lands another Joey Porter to start for nearly a decade and earn a few All-Pro accolades.
Porter is a solid player but this feels like a lazy pick. The Steelers need players who can come in and have an impact as a rookie and I’m not sure there’s a sport for Porter to do that.
