Steelers must pass on commonly mocked prospect according to The Athletic
The Pittsburgh Steelers have been mocked Joey Porter Jr. time and time again in the pre-draft process. And that is for good reason, with the obvious ties in lineage, and the glaring need at the cornerback position. But as bad as all Steelers fans want this pick to happen, scheme and fit have to be […]
The Pittsburgh Steelers have been mocked Joey Porter Jr. time and time again in the pre-draft process.
And that is for good reason, with the obvious ties in lineage, and the glaring need at the cornerback position.
But as bad as all Steelers fans want this pick to happen, scheme and fit have to be considered, and The Athletic thinks that the two are not the match made in heaven many have pegged them to be.
In a draft preview for the Steelers potential targets at corner, Mike DeFabo who covers the Steelers for The Athletic teamed up with Diante Lee who analyzes the draft to run through the best fits in Pittsburgh's secondary.
DeFabo posed the following question to Lee:
How much of a concern should that be for the Steelers? What will be the toughest part of Pittsburgh’s scheme for Porter as he adapts to the NFL? Asked DeFabo
I think there’s a way to evaluate Joey Porter Jr. and see him as a jack of all trades, master of none — and that’s probably what keeps him a half step behind Gonzalez and Witherspoon in this class, said Lee. He can press, and his technique has been cleaned up throughout his career, but he can still be a little grabby or stiff with his hips at the line of scrimmage. I like his instincts in zone coverage, but he doesn’t have the best ball skills in the class, so there are going to be questions about how he’ll perform with his back to the ball at the next level.
Lee would then add:
Ultimately, I think his ceiling is going to be lower than the other top corners, and for as much one-on-one coverage as the Steelers like to play, it may make more sense to get a guy like Maryland’s Deonte Banks, who’d walk in the door ready to handle a high volume of Cover 1 and Cover 3.
As someone who also does draft evaluations and recently did a seven-round mock draft where I selected Banks at 17 for Pittsburgh, I would have to agree with Lee's analysis.
At over 6 feet and nearly 200 pounds, Banks had the best athletic testing score amongst all cornerback prospects at the 2023 NFL Combine per Next Gen Stats. Those numbers included:
- 4.35 40-yard dash
- 1.49 10-yard split
- 42' vert
- 11'4'' broad
Slated at 23 on the consensus board, Banks may be rising fast, making him an easy choice if the board falls the Steelers way.
But hey, much like Kenny Pickett last year, the Steelers have an inside track to not only the type of player, but the type of person Porter Jr. is.
Meaning, if they are enamored with the prospect, who by all means is one of the best players in the draft, perhaps fit goes out the window.
We will see soon enough.
