Getty Joey Porter Jr. runs after an interception.
From the moment Joey Porter Jr. was born, he was destined to play professional football and maybe even destined to be a Steeler. On April 28, 2023, that destiny became a reality in both instances when he was selected 32nd overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL draft.
A common knock against Porter by NFL scouts and draft analysts coming out of college was his lack of ball skills. He only brought in one interception during his four-year career at Penn State. But it’s tough to intercept a ball that isn’t thrown in your direction, which was often the case. According to Pro Football Focus, when quarterbacks did test him in his final season, he held opposing receivers to a mere 146 total yards (47.1 percent completion rate) on 34 targets.
That criticism left a bad taste in Porter’s mouth, and he wanted to wash it out. His primary focus in the offseason is to improve his hands. “Really just all the fundamental stuff I’ve been working on since I got here,” Porter explained in an August 16 media scrum. “Catching the ball, working on my press technique, off man and everything like that. Really understanding the plays and route recognition. That stuff.”
And what better way to test yourself than against insane-catch-man George Pickens? “Iron sharpens iron,” Porter said of working against Pickens in practice. “We had a good little one-on-one. He caught some crazy stuff down there. Don’t know how he caught it. It’s great. We’re always going to talk candidly, but we’re teammates at the end of the day. We’re just working.”
But it’s his doubters that Porter wants to silence, and that began with his first interception as a pro in Pittsburgh’s August 19 routing of the Buffalo Bills. The pick set his team up nicely at the Buffalo 30, and a minute later, right before the half, a pass from quarterback Mitch Trubisky to (insert whatever position you want) Connor Heyward made it a 21-to-zilch game.
Meant to be in the Black & Gold 🙌 @JoeyPorterJr
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“I always want to stand on what I say,” Porter said in a postgame press conference. “I’ve been telling people I’ve been working on my hands a lot. Nothing better than a homecoming game and getting my first pick. It was perfect.”
Steelers’ Joey Porter Jr. Hands Ball off to Joey Porter Sr.
After celebrating the big interception with his team, Joey Porter ran to the sideline and pointed toward the stands. Fans instantly knew it was aimed at his dad, Joey Porter Sr. Moments later, the camera panned to the Steelers cornerback tossing the ball to him in the stands.
A special moment 🖤💛 @JoeyPorterJr
Porter, 46, is a Steelers legend and could’ve sat anywhere, especially in the stadium where he spent eight years harassing quarterbacks and later coached for five seasons. But he chose to sit with the commoners and had to make his way down to the front row.
“I was looking for him the whole time, but I couldn’t find him,” Porter said. “He was all the way up there in the nosebleeds. When he finally came down, I got the ball back, and I gave it to him.”
“It’s my first one, though. He probably will let me keep that one. He probably gonna want the one in the regular season.”
It may just be the preseason, but if Joey Porter Jr.’s first game is a taste of things to come, 2023 will be sweet.