Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin joined Rich Eisen on The Rich Eisen Show at the end of the week to talk about the offseason and how the new rookies are looking at workouts. The Steelers had a draft that almost everyone agrees was a homerun, finding great value in the later rounds and attacking positions of need with players that will make an immediate impact. Tomlin highlighted their taking of Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr. at the top of the second round, and how it might not have always been planned to happen that way.
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Joey Porter Jr. was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 32nd overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
What Would It Have Cost For The Steelers To Move Away From the 32nd Pick?
Eisen brought up the transition from night one to night two of the NFL Draft, and the speculation that the Steelers might move off of the 32nd pick. Tomlin had this to say in response:
"We were, we were open to doing business particularly if someone was interested in doing some drafting business you know, if someone really wanted that pick, we just didn't get enough action to stimulate us. There was a guy there that we were very familiar with that we thought was definitely worthy of that pick, we probably would have been comfortable with him much earlier than that. There was a position of need for us and so it was going to take a significant maneuver by someone to get us off the spot, but we were open. It's just proven business to be open."
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Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin and GM Omar Khan meet with the media.
Was Porter Jr. Always The Target For the Steelers?
From Tomlin's comments, it seems that the Steelers were always going to select Porter Jr. with the 32nd overall pick, and that is a great thing. A trade away from the pick was speculated and a ton of teams were named trade partners, but why would the Steelers trade away from a future starter at the position? In a deep draft at the corner position, the Steelers were able to get a good quality first-round graded corner as the fifth corner taken. It seems Porter Jr. was always destined to be a Pittsburgh Steeler as a legacy with his father being such a leader and legend of the team. Tomlin talked about what that was like to be able to select him:
"It's really cool. My son and Joey Jr. are really good friends, they have been since they were middle school aged, and so he has been at my house quite a bit over the years... It's just a really interesting and cool thing to do business with someone that you got a personal relationship, you know their background you've known them since they were a kid, and you are not compromising any of the things that you value in terms of the business componet of it, the need and all of that."
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Joey Porter Jr. will continue having his home games in Pennsylvania after landing with the Steelers at the top of the second round.
What Is Porter Jr.'s Role As A Rookie?
As a rookie, Porter Jr. will immediately step in and be a starter for the Pittsburgh Steelers. A player that is as talented as him should not sit on the bench or take time to learn the game any longer. The Steelers selected Porter for the player he is on and off the field, and he gets a chance on the field to learn from players like Minkah Fitzpatrick and Patrick Peterson, while getting to be around a team and culture that shows how to win off the field as well.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Do you think Joey Porter Jr. has what it takes to start right away? Let us know on Twitter or in the comments below.
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