Joey Porter Jr. shut down nearly everybody the Pittsburgh Steelers matched him up against in his rookie season. One of the only players to get the better of him was Seattle Seahawks WR DK Metcalf. Now the two are teammates, and Porter is excited for that opportunity to get better against him in practice every day. Even if things might get heated at times.
“I was excited to be honest. I’m like, ‘This is gonna be a good camp’ ’cause I know I’m coming with it every time, and I know they gonna push me too, to another level,” Porter said via The Christian Kuntz Podcast on YouTube. “I know it’s gonna be chippy and that’s what I be looking forward to. So I was really excited for it because I know it’s gonna elevate my game.”
After shutting down DeAndre Hopkins, Ja’Marr Chase and others, Porter shadowed Metcalf 81.3 percent of the time in his rookie season and allowed three receptions on six targets for 86 yards with a 26.9 percent press-coverage rate, per Next Gen Stats.
Joey Porter Jr. aligned across from DK Metcalf on 26 of 32 routes (81.3%), his 6th shadow coverage game since Week 7 (T-most in NFL).
Metcalf caught 3 of 6 targets for 86 yards, the first WR to gain over 40 yards vs Porter in coverage this season.#PITvsSEA | #Seahawks pic.twitter.com/DTIMSOqtoF
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) January 1, 2024
Metcalf got the better of Porter in that matchup in more ways than one, including as a blocker out on the perimeter in the run game. Porter has the physical advantage over many receivers with his arm length, but not against Metcalf.
This isn't the reason you trade for DK Metcalf but Arthur Smith will love seeing this. Metcalf getting after Joey Porter Jr. in the run game in 2023, clearing the way for this TD.
Receivers gotta block to play in this system. #Steelers pic.twitter.com/3IypUWC4K3
— Alex Kozora (@Alex_Kozora) March 10, 2025
Porter had some great camp battles with George Pickens over the last two years. With Pickens gone and Metcalf now in Pittsburgh, he described what it’s like going against his new teammate.
“DK is more brute force even though that’s not all he has to his game. He has a lot to his game that I feel like people really don’t understand,” Porter said. “You gotta really lock in when you go against somebody like that because he could run any route in the route tree and he’s big and fast.
“Then you gotta tackle him when he gets the ball. So then it’s like when he get the ball in his hand, that’s another thing.”
Porter has had a solid first two NFL seasons. He progressed in some ways in Year 2, but penalties held him back at times. And he didn’t quite make the jump to being a truly elite corner like many expected. Daily matchups against one of the receivers who got the better of him in 2023 should help. So should learning from a veteran like Darius Slay.
Slay and Metcalf have an interesting history of their own, so regardless of who Metcalf is matched up against at camp, things are likely to get chippy.
If Porter can effectively cover the physical outlier that is Metcalf, very few challenges will feel difficult on game day.
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