How Joey Porter Jr. fits with Pittsburgh Steelers
Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr. didn’t have to wait long on Friday night after his first-round snub on Thursday. The Nittany Lions defensive back went with the first pick as a legacy selection to his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers. For those that don’t know, Joey Porter Sr. was a standout outside linebacker for the club for eight seasons, from 1999 through 2006.
But beyond the feel-goods of the Porter legacy in Pittsburgh, what is Joey Porter Jr. bringing to the Steelers? More importantly, do his skills match the system he’ll be running this upcoming season?
Let’s take a look at where he shined in college and how that translates to the NFL.
Steelers D-coordinator Teryl Austin sets the tone for defense in new scheme
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Throughout his career, Austin has been a classic single-high defensive coordinator from his time in Detroit to last season in his first year with the Steelers. This fit is a good one in certain situations for Porter Jr.
When we say that Austin runs a single-high coverage system, it’s referring to the number of safeties aligned deep in coverage. In reality, a single-high system is comprised of heavy man coverage (Cover 1) and zone coverage (Cover 3). Over his time at Penn State, Porter Jr. did his best work in Cover 1, or man coverage. His 34-inch arms, ultra-aggressive playing style, and good deep recovery speed mean he can fight with X receivers at any point in the route. Sometimes he got too handsy, but most college defensive backs are too handsy. So from that half of his job description, Porter Jr. is in a great spot with the Steelers.
Off-coverage isn’t Porter’s strong suit
The other side is Cover 3, which is zone coverage. In this system, Porter plays off and is responsible for one-third of the deep coverage scheme. The former Penn State Nittany Lion has good instincts but sometimes struggles to break on routes in his third of the field when in off-coverage. He doesn’t have bad zone instincts, but it isn’t his strength. Cover 3 was a favorite of former Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry. From 2019 to 2020, Porter Jr. was significantly less productive in this system. Last year, Porter Jr. flourished in Manny Diaz’s aggressive man coverage scheme.
The good news is that it keeps Porter Jr. from playing run defense in the flat and forces him into contain-responsibility instead of playing a gap, which he struggled at last year.
Overall, this is a good fit. Porter Jr’s presence means the Steelers can blitz more and play man coverage if they want. That gives them more latitude to get pressure and sacks with their elite front five. Last season, Porter Jr. allowed a passer rating of 56.9 into his man coverage and a completion percentage of 47.4%.
While the Steelers didn’t run the most Cover 1 of any team in the NFL, this is still a good fit for Porter Jr. He’ll slide into the defensive secondary with Mikah Fitzpatrick, Levi Wallace, and Patrick Peterson, meaning he isn’t the only player with talent on the back end.
