Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr. drafted 32nd overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers
Porter goes to Pittsburgh, where his father starred for eight seasons.
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Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. became the latest Penn State player to make it to the NFL when he was selected in the second round of the draft on Friday by the Pittsburgh Steelers. His father, Joey Porter, played 13 NFL seasons, including eight in Pittsburgh, where he won a Super Bowl. The four-time Pro Bowl linebacker recorded 98 career sacks, including 60 for the Steelers.
The younger Porter narrowly missed out on becoming the first Penn State defensive back to be selected in the first round, but at No. 32 overall, the Nittany Lions corner became the highest-drafted DB in school history.
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While Penn State boasts almost 400 alumni who have been selected in the NFL draft before this year, including two players selected No. 1 overall in Ki-Jana Carter (1995) and Courtney Brown (2000), and a reputation for producing star defensive players, no Nittany Lions corner had ever been drafted before the third round. Before Porter, Penn State’s highest-drafted defensive backs were second-round safeties: Kim Herring (No. 58 in 1997), Bryan Scott (No. 55 in 2003), and Jaquan Brisker (No. 48 in 2022).
Porter was the fifth defensive back off the board in a deep cornerback class, following Devon Witherspoon (No. 5), Emmanuel Forbes (No. 16), Christian Gonzalez (No. 17), and Deonte Banks (No. 24). In four seasons in Happy Valley, Porter amassed 94 total tackles, 19 pass breakups, one interception, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. This past season as a redshirt junior, Porter had his best season, as he recorded 27 tackles and 11 pass breakups. He was named a first-team All-Big Ten selection and was a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award (best defensive back) and Chuck Bednarik Award (best defensive player).
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A modern corner at 6-foot-2, 194 pounds with long arms (34 inches), Porter is best known for his physicality at the line of scrimmage. He has been praised for his ability to reroute wide receivers and closes on the ball well with good hand work. While his 4.46 40-yard dash time points to his recovery speed, his quickness when it comes to changing direction is viewed as a limitation at this point. For these reasons, he is viewed as more of a fit for man coverage. There also were some concerns from scouts about his lack of production for a first-round pick, as Porter had just one career interception in 30 games at Penn State.
Porter’s slide into the second round ended a two-year streak of Penn State having first-round picks. Washington selected wide receiver Jahan Dotson with the No. 16 pick last year, while pass rushers Micah Parsons (Dallas) and Odafe Oweh (Baltimore) both went in Round 1 in 2021.