Steelers' Mike Tomlin Officially Announce Big Changes On Defensive Depth Chart

The Pittsburgh Steelers have eased their 2023 NFL Draft class into extensive playing time this season. That goes for cornerback Joey Porter Jr. the most, as the second-rounder has been exceptional in limited playing time. Still, the coaching staff has refused to name him a full-time starter. Now the cornerback room does have two veterans, Levi Wallace and Patrick Peterson, and the team has leaned on them while Porter goes through the maturation process.

Now, it appears as if things have changed. In his press conference on Monday following the Week 8 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin officially named Porter a starter moving forward. The move comes at the expense of Wallace, whom will still see plenty of snaps. In seven games this season, the Alabama product has severely struggled with guarding opposing wide receivers. 

When asked if Porter has done enough to get the elevation into the lineup, Tomlin had a simple response.

"He has," Tomlin said on Monday in reference to the rookie cornerback.

Once again, Porter was the team's best cornerback on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars. That's been a recurring theme over the past month or so, as he has excelled in coverage on a regular basis. It was the case again in Week 8, as Pro Football Focus gave Porter a good grade, while everyone else in the secondary struggled. The rookie now ranks sixth amongst cornerbacks on the grading site, as he has a 81.9 overall grade.

On the contrary, Peterson and Wallace rank 91st and 105th amongst 116 qualifying corners. It hasn't been good for either of them, as they were expected to be at least competent for the Steelers this season. It's worth noting that Ahkello Witherspoon continues to perform well for the Los Angeles Rams. If you remember, after an injury-filled 2022 campaign, the Steelers cut ties with him this past offseason.

Should The Steelers Have Kept Witherspoon?

The move saved the team money, and Witherspoon had shown a dip in performance last season. Still, it's interesting to see his resurgence in the NFC West. Pittsburgh did see Witherspoon in Week 7, as he tried his best to aggravate second-year wideout, George Pickens. It seemingly worked late in the game, as Pickens picked up an unnecessary 15-yard penalty.

The Steelers still won though, led by a big day from their top two wide receivers. For the final two months of the season, it will be interesting to see what the coaching staff does with the secondary. They face even bigger issues on the back end now, as star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick was already ruled out for Week 9 by Tomlin on Monday. He suffered a hamstring injury on Sunday and could miss even more time than just this week.

As Tomlin mentions, that's not only a huge playmaker in the secondary, but it's also the key cog to their communication back there. Tomlin was asked if Peterson could see time at safety with Fitzpatrick, but he spoke about his confidence in Miles Killebrew instead. That puts even more importance on the team's pass rushing being dominant, as they may have to just piece things together in the secondary for now. Rookie Darius Rush remains another name to keep an eye on, as he may be able to sneak his way into the fold with the veterans struggling.

Why did the team wait this long to finally name Porter a starter? What else does the coaching staff need to do in order to optimize the best results out of this cornerback unit? Has moving Peterson around the secondary helped the past few weeks? Share your thoughts in the comment section below, yinz!

#SteelerNation