Steelers take Joey Porter Jr. to kick off 2nd round of NFL draft

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr. in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft, No. 32 overall.

The Penn State product is the son of former Steelers linebacker Joey Porter, who spent eight years of his NFL career in Pittsburgh.

Porter was the Steelers' second selection of the 2023 NFL Draft. Pittsburgh took Georgia offensive tackle Broderick Jones in the first round Thursday.

Pittsburgh has been retooling its cornerback room since the departure of Cam Sutton as a free agent this offseason. In addition to drafting Porter, the club also signed veteran free agent Patrick Peterson.

Porter put up a career-high 11 pass defenses in his final year at Penn State in 2022. He recorded one interception over his college career.

Pre-draft profile

There's no questioning Porter's play strength when you turn on the film. He's capable of throwing receivers around as a press corner, disrupting route timing, and preventing clean releases. Porter breaks on throws to force incompletions both coming downfield and leaping into the air. He also uses good hand placement to help recover if he's caught out of position, keeping him involved even if he makes a false step early in the down. The former Nittany Lion would be wise to stay at the line of scrimmage for the majority of his snaps, as his hip fluidity and change of direction skills leave something to be desired and could leave him exposed against quicker targets.