Joey Porter Jr. ought to hit the sphere sooner quite than later, however at the least one beat author expects it to be sooner quite than later. As in, the primary shot of the 2023 season.
Showing on 93.7 The Fan Friday, mentioned Mark Kaboly of The Athletic he thinks second-round CB pick Joey Porter Jr. will open the year as one of many Steelers beginning cornerbacks.
“They see him because the starter,” Kaboly mentioned by way of The Fan. “He must go to camp and completely implode to have this ripped from him.”
Porter turned the thirty second total decide on this yr’s draft, the primary participant chosen on Day 2. Porter was anticipated to be a first-round decide and the Steelers mentioned after the draft that they thought-about him such a expertise, however he slipped to the highest of the second spherical. Though they obtained plenty of curiosity to commerce out of the decide, the Steelers caught to their weapons as Porter was nonetheless out there.
With nice top and size, Porter suits the sample of the Steelers, a system that desires to play plenty of press protection. That was evident based mostly on how Pittsburgh drafted, taking Porter first in spherical two after which Cory Trice Jr., who has related top/weight/size credentials, in spherical seven.
There isn’t any doubt that Porter will see the pitch virtually instantly. The query is whether or not he’ll skip Levi Wallace and Patrick Peterson on the depth chart and actually take the primary shot of the season in Week 1 in opposition to the San Francisco 49ers. Over the previous few years, the Steelers’ high draft picks have hit the sphere and change into fast contributors, however Porter supplanting Peterson and Wallace is a harder job.
Whatever the depth chart, Porter will likely be an affect participant as a rookie. To achieve success in his first season, he might want to proceed to refine his approach and change into conversant in off-man and zone protection. Splash video games would even be a bonus after making only one move at Penn State. That may match the Steelers’ aggressive mindset after tying the league lead with 20 interceptions final season.
