Joey Porter Jr. has quietly turned into one of the NFL’s best cover corners. NFL.com’s Kevin Patra thinks 2026 is the year the Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback finally earns the recognition to match, provided his contract standoff doesn’t get in the way.
Patra named Porter his pick as the Steelers’ most likely first-time Pro Bowler heading into the season, pointing to a player who took a real leap in 2025.
NFL.com Names Joey Porter Jr. a First-Time Pro Bowl Candidate
The numbers appear to add up in Porter’s favor.
“Joey Porter Jr., who is waiting to be paid, continues to ascend, showing an ability to lock down opposing No. 1 receivers,” Patra wrote. “In 2025, the physical corner allowed a -7.0% CPOE, second among all CBs (min. 500 coverage snaps), 0.8 yards per snap (tied with the likes of Derek Stingley Jr. and A.J. Terrell) and a -0.7 EPA per target, per NGS.”
In other words, quarterbacks had a hard time completing passes when they threw Porter’s, and they rarely got much when they did. Porter also led the Steelers with 14 passes defended across 14 games while holding opposing quarterbacks under a 50% completion rate when targeted.
For the son of Steelers legend Joey Porter Sr., the 2023 second-round pick has grown into exactly the kind of physical, line-of-scrimmage corner Pittsburgh envisioned when it drafted him 32nd overall.
Patra also believes Pittsburgh’s new defensive coordinator will be beneficial to the cornerback.
“I expect the 26-year-old to fit perfectly in new DC Patrick Graham’s scheme when he finally gets off the PUP list,” Patra wrote.
Joey Porter Jr.’s Contract Standoff Hangs Over His Pro Bowl Push
Porter is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and he’s spent the offseason locked in an extension standoff with the Steelers.
He skipped the entire spring, declining to participate in OTAs and minicamp, and has been on the physically unable to perform list since training camp opened with a back injury that many around the team view as a convenient cover for a hold-in. He has yet to practice or play in the preseason.
The frustration is understandable. Porter has watched his fellow 2023 draft classmates cash in this offseason, with Nick Herbig signing for up to $100 million, Keeanu Benton getting $72 million and Darnell Washington landing $42 million. Porter, widely considered the most valuable of the group, remains unsigned.
The market has only moved in his favor. Seattle’s Devon Witherspoon recently reset the position with a four-year, $132 million deal that made him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history, and New England’s Christian Gonzalez looms as another domino. Porter’s camp appears content to wait.
His absence has also stung a secondary that can’t afford it. The Steelers opened camp with Porter, Jalen Ramsey and Donte Kent all on the PUP list, leaving a unit that finished 26th in total yards allowed last season dangerously thin as it transitions to Graham’s scheme.
There’s a risk in the standoff, too. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac, Porter’s decision to hold in didn’t sit well with the new coaching staff.
“He did not do himself any favors by coming in with a new coaching staff and not doing anything in the spring,” Dulac reported.
The talent isn’t in question. If Porter gets his deal, gets healthy and takes the field, he has the game to make Patra’s projection look easy. He just has to get there first.
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