Joey Porter Jr. NFL Draft Overview
Position: Cornerback
Height: ‘6-2”
Weight: 193 Pounds
School: Penn State
2023 NFL Draft: Joey Porter Jr. Scouting Report
Joey Porter Jr. is the son of Super Bowl XL champion, four-time pro bowler, NFL’s all-decade team in 2000, and legendary Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker, Joey Porter. Porter Jr. is set to begin his reign in the NFL as a member of the 2023 NFL draft class. He was born and raised in Bakersfield CA. but attended high school at North Allegheny Sr. in Wexford PA. Coming out of high school, he was labeled as a four-star recruit and received multiple offers to power five colleges but decided to attend Penn State University.
In his freshman year, he saw limited action but became a full-time starter in 2020 for his sophomore year. He had a total of 34 tackles and one sack that year. In 2021, Porter Jr. had another successful season as he recorded a career-high, 49 tackles, one forced fumble, and one interception.
In his senior year of college, he decided to return back to Penn State and was a dominant factor in the Nittany Lions passing defense. The young defensive back finished the year with 27 tackles. What was most impressive was, he was a starter all year and only allowed 135 yards, and was only targeted on 30 plays out of 225 snaps.
Strengths:
- Great body length and will make good strides while running and is able to break up passes utilizing his length
- Clutch player for big-time moments
- Is willing to make open-field tackles
- Press man-to-man cornerback
- Will make key deflections instead of intercepting the ball, very selfless player
- Amazing instincts and keeps his hips aligned with wide receivers
- Can create an island on the defense
Weaknesses:
- Overly aggressive at the snap of the ball and will rack upholding penalties
- Undersized and can get blocked easily by receivers
- Needs to learn how to take better angles when tackling
- Speed wide receivers can cause issues when in press coverage
NFL Comparison: Charvarius Ward
Teams With a Need: Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons, Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Chargers
Projection: First-Round Pick
Bottom Line on Joey Porter Jr.
While Porter Jr. already has a household name from his dad’s playing days, he is a future NFL star in the making. What makes him special from other cornerbacks is his ability and willingness to make open field tackles against opposing players. While this is a great strength for him, there is room for growth in this area as he will need to learn how to make better angles when it comes to open-field tackles. He is a perfect cornerback to have lined up in press and man-to-man coverage as he has the shiftiness to cover any wide receiver in front of him.
Aggressiveness is one of his biggest strengths but is also one of his biggest weaknesses, as he is very physical right at the snap of the ball and sometimes draws holding penalties. Last season, he finished the year with 10 penalties, and this is a must-fix area as NFL receivers will exploit this tendency.
One area Porter Jr. excels in compared to other defensive backs is his ability to lock hips and keep wide receivers in front of him during plays. He has speed as good as anyone and this should not be a concern unless he is matched up against a true burner like Justin Jefferson or Garret Wilson. Porter Jr. will need to develop the ability to not just rely on press coverage to be a successful cornerback in the NFL. While he does not have many interceptions on his resume, Porter Jr. has the ability to create an island on the defense and will make it difficult for any quarterback to look his way. Expect him to be a day-one starter for whichever team takes him.
