The Pittsburgh Steelers have been on top of the NFL world after the 2023 Draft. They added a ton of value in the late rounds and are widely considered to have one of the best drafts of all 32 teams. Many people believed the Steelers would be selecting now-rookie member Joey Porter Jr. just because of the connection the organization has to his father. Former Steelers linebacker, Arthur Moats joined the Locked on Steelers podcast to discuss what he sees in Porter Jr. and how he will translate to the NFL.
Penn State Athletics
Pittsburgh Steelers Second Round Selection Cornerback Joey Porter Jr.
Moats was asked by Chris Carter the following:
"What about Joey Porter's game excites you the most that he's going to bring to the Steelers secondary?"
Moats responded:
"To me, it's his length and the ability to reroute guys. He, when you watch him in the press, he is so sticky with his hands in terms of just seeing them home, and ultimately redirecting and rerouting these receivers and ultimately giving them fits. It's very rare you see a receiver have a free release or a clean release versus him. And at the NFL level when you are talking about them athletes, them unicorns, that are on offense, you do not want them getting free releases. You want to do everything you can to disrupt them and that's the part of his game that I think translates the best. But then, I also just love how big he is because we have been getting more comfortable with smaller corners. For us to get back to more of a corner that is literally in the frame of like an Ike Taylor-type the last big dominant corner that we've had, to me that's an even more exciting part as well"
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Steelers Retired Cornerback Ike Taylor
Steelers Looking To Have A Big Dominant Corner For The First Time In Nine Years.
Ike Taylor played 12 years in the NFL and all came in Pittsburgh. During his career, he won two Super Bowls and was a part of some all-time great defenses in history and for the Steelers organization. Taylor was the last physically imposing corner Pittsburgh had, and Porter Jr. is looking to model his game after his, even selecting 24 as his number in honor of Taylor and what he meant to the Steelers organization.
Taylor and Porter Jr's father, Joey Porter Sr. played together and are friends to this day. Porter Jr. will look to use his length and size to emulate Taylor's game. Both players are the same height with Porter Jr. weighing only three pounds more than Taylor did. Porter Jr will look to set the tone in his upcoming rookie season.
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Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr and Ohio State Wide Receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Steelers Have Been Looking For A Shutdown Corner For The Last Decade
Playing in the Big Ten and coming out of Penn State, Porter Jr. knows what it is to play against NFL talent. At Ohio State alone, over the past two years, the school has had three first-round receivers be selected for the NFL including the 2022 Offensive Rookie of the Year, Garret Wilson.
This number does not include projected 2024 first-round picks Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka. NFL players are always coming out of this talented league, and Porter Jr. is no stranger to what NFL talent looks like on rosters, or how to defend it.
What do you think about the addition of Joey Porter Jr.? Do you think he was worth the 32nd overall pick? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter.
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