Confidence is key in a great cornerback. Joey Porter Jr. has that box checked when it comes to his assessment of his own game. Entering his fourth season, he has earned the reputation as one of the top cover corners in the league even as some fans and media critique him for his penalties.
During an appearance on the BluePrint Podcast, Porter was asked if he thinks he should be considered one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL. He didn’t hold back.
“I feel like I snapped my Year Two even though it wasn’t my best performance my whole season. Because I had so many penalties that year,” Porter said. “I feel like that’s what people really harp on my game about is the PIs and the penalties. But it’s like, y’all hold other DB under that microscope or grade them under just that.
“I haven’t given up a touchdown in three years. No wide receiver put over 50, 60 yards on my head alone. And I travel with the best of them. And they wanna talk about penalties. You could have that debate, but it gets to a certain point.”
After being selected with the top pick in the second round in 2023, Porter was quickly inserted into the starting lineup. He became an instant contributor in a weak secondary that featured Patrick Peterson and Levi Wallace as the other top cornerbacks and held his own as a rookie. He built on it in 2024, but the penalties mounted. The ugliest game of his career came that season against the Cincinnati Bengals when Porter racked up six flags, though only four were accepted.
In 2025, Porter’s 56 penalty yards were a career low, down from 137 the previous season. Even if it’s a fair criticism, at least Porter can point to the improvement that he made last season. Before the season, Porter acknowledged that he had work to do to clean up his game. Changing the color of his gloves wasn’t the top of his priority list, he acknowledged there were things in his game that he could clean up.
It can be easy to overlook a lockdown cornerback whose contributions may not show up on the stat sheet, especially one like Porter who doesn’t produce many interceptions, and look to the penalties that are costing the defense yards. After all, it’s no easy task to shadow the offense’s number one receiver. This past season yet another where the cornerback room was in flux. Jalen Ramsey was moved to safety partway through the year and Darius Slay didn’t even make it through the season. Through it all, Porter was the position’s steadying force.
Assuming penalties don’t become a major factor again in 2026, there’s no reason to believe that the future isn’t incredibly bright for Porter. The biggest question will be whether he and the Steelers will agree to a contract extension. If Porter continues trending in the right direction, the conversation around his game may finally shift from what he needs to fix to what he already does at an elite level.
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