Steelers' Joey Porter Jr. And His Father Open Up About The Aftermath Of The Spectacular George Pickens' Catch

The Pittsburgh Steelers officially concluded their 2023 training camp on Thursday and perhaps the best highlight to come out of the team's camp was second-year wide receiver, George Pickens making an acrobatic, circus catch against Joey Porter Jr. in one-on-ones. The clip of the catch made its way across all social media platforms and most NFL shows. Many were disrespecting Porter Jr. because he got "beat" on the drill. On a recent appearance on The Pivot podcast, Porter Jr. and Joey Porter Sr. spoke about the catch and how going against Pickens has helped Porter Jr. 

Steelers' Porter Jr. Explains How Pickens Makes Him Better

Pickens was not close to the top of the league in receiving in 2022. He didn't eclipse 1,000 yards, have 100 receptions and didn't make the Pro Bowl. However, he did have many highlight plays and show he has what it takes to be great, and he is expected to take the leap to the next level in 2023. With that being said, it is a difficult challenge for Porter Jr. every day in practice to go against Pickens. According to Porter Jr., it's helpful for him to improve. 

"It really just helps me see where I'm at and how I could stack up against everybody. It's good work every time."

Porter Jr. was one of the premiere lock-down cornerbacks in college football in 2022 at Penn State, and he thankfully, fell to the Steelers in the second round. Although he was elite in college, that doesn't mean it will translate to the NFL. Pickens helps Porter Jr. see where his skills are at and how they have developed since he has arrived in Pittsburgh, and gives him the confidence to match up against some of the NFL's best wide receivers. 

Porter Jr. has had a rollercoaster of a training camp in 2023. He has had solid plays, including two interceptions in one practice session. However, there has also been some bad. This includes consistently struggling in tackling drills, where he completely missed wide receiver, Gunner Olszewski twice. He was also on the wrong end of one of the best training camp highlights from around the NFL. 

This came in a simple one-on-one, defensive back versus wide receiver drill. Obviously, the play ends in spectacular fashion with Pickens making an insanely impressive catch which would wind up getting Porter Jr. disrespected all across social media and on some televised sports programming. Despite the tight coverage, all that matters is the spectacular reception. Porter Jr. reflected on the catch with The Pivot.

"I tell him [Pickens] every time, if I make him need to do an acrobatic catch every time then that's good on my part. Obviously I don't want him to catch it but if you gotta do something crazy like that then I know I'm in a good position." 

Although it's good to hear the rookie not letting all the negative coverage in the media stemming from the play affect him, just having tight coverage and being in a good position isn't always good enough in the NFL. Sometimes a cornerback needs to make a play on the ball so the receiver doesn't have the opportunity to do what Pickens did. 

Porter Sr. happened to be at Steelers practice that day, and was standing right near the catch when it happened. While chatting with his old Steelers teammate, Ryan Clark, on The Pivot, he shared his initial reaction and immediate thoughts as well as what he told Porter Jr. afterwards.

"I was laughing at that catch because I knew he [Porter Jr.] was about to be tight. When I saw it I told him he was going up on SportsCenter. He told me he was right there. I said 'yeah man this is the league. You can be in perfect coverage, it's gonna happen.'"

Porter Sr. has been coaching Porter Jr. up for his entire life, and it looks like it will continue as he begins his career in the NFL. So many want Porter Jr. to be great, in training camp alone many Steelers' legends were seen coming up to him and giving him advice and pointers on how to perfect his craft. We saw Ike Taylor and Ryan Clark both trying to help Porter Jr. be great, and hopefully he can be by learning from legends and practicing against the best.

What do you think about the Porter family's comments Steeler Nation? Let us know in the comments below!

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