Steelers' dynamic at cornerback coming along nicely
Cornerback was a position the Pittsburgh Steelers had to get right this offseason. Watching Cam Sutton sign with the Detroit Lions hurt, but adding Patrick Peterson to offset the loss provided a needed baseline for the NFL Draft.Enter Joey Porter Jr., the rookie out of Penn State with blood that's already Black and Yellow. The […]
Cornerback was a position the Pittsburgh Steelers had to get right this offseason. Watching Cam Sutton sign with the Detroit Lions hurt, but adding Patrick Peterson to offset the loss provided a needed baseline for the NFL Draft.
Enter Joey Porter Jr., the rookie out of Penn State with blood that's already Black and Yellow.
The 32nd overall pick from April's draft has first-round talent. The Steelers believed so when they considered him with their original pick on that Thursday evening. Where he was drafted is irrelevant now as his role with the defense his father thrived in takes center stage.
There may not be a waiting period for Porter to see the field at all. In talking with media members this week, Peterson mentioned that the rookie was taking part on all three units of the defense, including the starters.
The more work Porter can prove to handle, the easier his transition into an NFL starting cornerback will be. His emergence will also give Peterson chances to move around the secondary, and that emergence looks like it'll be sooner rather than later.
"We’re already seeing a lot of him," Peterson said. "He’s working with ones, twos, and threes. That guy is getting all the looks that he needs to make sure that he’s prepared when his number is called. But you can expect to see him on the field early and quite often."
It wouldn't be brand new to see a rookie cornerback start for Pittsburgh. Artie Burns logged 991 snaps as a first-year player back in 2016, producing a wild mix of positive and negative results. Burns finished with 11 penalties and three interceptions that year.
But it's not just Porter making an impression in practice. Fellow rookie Cory Trice Jr. is fitting the mold as another big and physical cornerback with an appetite for improvement. The experienced Peterson can see it just as clear as the coaches.
"To have both of these young, as coach likes to call them avatar cornerbacks, it's going to be special," Peterson said of Porter and Trice. "Both of them want to learn, want to get as much knowledge as they need to be successful."
The ceiling of the Steelers' defense will be raised once the upside of their new cornerbacks is realized. How high they can go is only a matter of fate.
Featured image via Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
