Mike Tomlin is being careful with Joey Porter Jr. — almost to a fault. He’s been the best cornerback in the Pittsburgh Steelers secondary, which isn’t saying much for a 24th-ranked unit that’s surrendered the eighth-most yards in the NFL. Although Porter has shown time and time again that he has the chops to be in the starting lineup, his snaps remain limited.
Mark Madden, the Pittsburgh media member everyone loves to hate, had an interesting analogy for Porter being the team’s best corner: “[It’s] akin to being the smartest man in prison.”
All players have flaws, and Madden highlighted Porter’s glaring shortcoming in his latest column for TribLive: tackling. It could be what makes Tomlin hesitant to plug him in (in addition to his overall stubbornness with rookies).
“The job of a cornerback isn’t to tackle,” Madden wrote. “Deion Sanders never did it. A cornerback’s main duty is to cover. Porter can do that. Porter has the potential to erase one side of the field, like he did at Penn State. The Steelers need to better explore that potential. Sooner, not later.”
The head-scratcher is that Patrick Peterson and Levi Wallace aren’t great tacklers, either. So why not go with the guy with more upside and the future of the cornerbacks room? Throw the rookie label out the window and embrace the legacy label instead.
Nick Farabaugh, beat writer for Steelers Now, noted that Porter struggled in tackling drills in training camp. Secondary coach Grady Brown should make this weakness a point of emphasis in daily practice for Porter.
Porter has been more than adequate in the role he was drafted for, which is shutting down receivers. Again, a limited sample size, but in 76 coverage snaps (36 press), he’s allowed only one reception for 12 yards and no touchdowns for a completion percentage of .143. Meanwhile, Peterson has allowed a 109.8 passer rating and Wallace 87.4.
The Steelers should let Porter roll and do what they essentially used a first-round pick for. He can’t be any worse than the starters.
