Steelers bring CB Joey Porter Jr. home in NFL draft
PITTSBURGH — Joey Porter Jr. is going home.
The Pittsburgh Steelers selected the Penn State cornerback and Pittsburgh native with the first pick in the second round of the NFL draft on Friday night.
The Steelers addressed a need with their second selection of the second round by taking defensive tackle Keeanu Benton out of Wisconsin.
Benton will likely be given time to develop behind a group that includes longtime captain Cam Heyward.
It won't be that way for Porter. The son of former Steelers linebacker and assistant coach Joey Porter Sr., played high school football in Pittsburgh's northern suburbs before spending four seasons with the Nittany Lions. The 22-year-old joins a cornerback group in need of an influx of youth and talent. While the Steelers signed veteran Patrick Peterson during the offseason, they also lost Cam Sutton to Detroit in free agency.
The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Porter gives the Steelers a defender with size and the skills necessary to play in a scheme that thrives on blitzing, frequently forcing the cornerbacks to fend for themselves.
Late in Round 2, The Steelers selected Wisconsin defensive tackle Keeanu Benton with the 49th overall selection.
While Porter had just one interception during his 35 career games, he was around the ball frequently. Porter tied a Big Ten record when he had six pass breakups in a victory over Purdue last fall.
The Steelers have no trouble catching the ball. Their 20 interceptions in 2022 led the NFL. Yet they were also susceptible to giving up big plays. Pittsburgh allowed 29 touchdown passes, ranked in the bottom five in the league.
Porter will get a chance to make an impact right away, and do it in a place he knows intimately, allowing him to dive in headfirst without having to the transition from collegian to pro in unfamiliar territory.
“A lot of young guys are going to go to a new city, they got to learn a new way to live, all this stuff," Austin said ."So that’s going to (be) less stress to a young guy (like Porter) as he comes in so he can really concentrate more on the football part of it."
It's a job that Porter has been groomed for in some ways his entire life. His father spent eight seasons in Pittsburgh as a player from 1999-2006, winning a Super Bowl and making the Pro Bowl three times. Joey Porter Sr. returned for a stint as an assistant on Mike Tomlin’s staff from 2014-19 while his son starred at North Allegheny.
The younger Porter is well-versed in what it takes to play in the NFL, and that demeanor became evident when Austin checked in on him at Penn State's pro day.
“What I got when I was interacting with him was that he’d been around and understood that, ‘Hey, this was an important part of (my) day, important part of (my) ’interview process.'”
A process that Porter handled with ease, even if he carries himself a little more quietly than his father, a notorious trash talker during his long and eventful career.
“Joe is as good (a trash talker) as there ever was,” Austin said with a laugh. “But no, I think, you know, (Joey Porter Jr.) is his own person.”
Porter won't lack for mentors. The Steelers have one of the best safeties in the game in perennial Pro Bowler Minkah Fitzpatrick. Peterson is a three-time All Pro who at age 32 will find himself with a protege to work with when organized team activities begin next month.
“(Porter) going to be in an environment that gives him an opportunity to succeed,” Austin said.
