Getty The Pittsburgh Steelers met with Joey Porter Jr.'s cousin, Shon Stephens.
Just a few days after the Pittsburgh Steelers were eliminated from the NFL playoffs, the organization has already begun to look at the future.
With their coaching situation quickly settled, the team has already begun to meet with prospects for the 2024 NFL draft.
Earlier in the week, they met with star Memphis running back Blake Watson.
Now they’ve added another interesting name to their list of meetings.
According to Steelers Now’s Nick Farabaugh, the Steelers met with cornerback Shon Stephens at the College Gridiron Showcase. He is the cousin of current Steelers CB, Joey Porter Jr.
Stephens was a standout at the Division II level in college, but never got the chance to play at the Division I level.
A Unique Draft Resume
Stephens had a college career that was different from any other prospect in the 2024 draft.
His career began at a JUCO in California before transferring to Division II Missouri Southern State.
He never played there as he took the 2020 season off to help his mother recover from a heart attack. He then tried to walk on at Penn State in 2021, but the NCAA wouldn’t grant him immediate eligibility.
That led him to D-2 West Liberty in 2022, where he put his talents on full display.
Stephens was named an All-American after leading the nation in interceptions with 8.
In 2023, he once again tried to work his way up to D-1. He took multiple visits and received interest from Power 5 schools, but was denied a hardship waiver by the NCAA.
He instead ended up at another D-2 school. This time he played for Ferris State and once again impressed. He had another 8 interceptions in 2023.
N0w he’s heading for the NFL with a very interesting resume. He played just two seasons at the D-2 level and never got his chance in the FBS, but his two seasons were very impressive.
Maybe those two seasons along with his connection to the Steelers will be enough to get him a chance to fill a need in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers’ Cornerback Need
Pittsburgh badly needed help at cornerback heading into the 2023 offseason.
They addressed the need by drafting Porter Jr. with the first pick in the second round of last year’s draft and signing Patrick Peterson.
The Porter Jr. pick has worked out pretty well. He has already firmly grabbed hold of the team’s top spot at corner. As a rookie, the team entrusted him with covering opposing teams’ top receivers and he proved to be up to the challenge.
The Peterson signing wasn’t as much of a success as far as filling their corner need. The former All-Pro has lost a step at this point in his career and ended up transitioning to safety late in the season.
He could also be a cut candidate during the 2024 offseason.
That leaves the Steelers still looking for somebody to play opposite Porter Jr.
The Steelers filling that need in round one or two has been a popular idea in mock drafts recently. Stephens won’t be a part of that discussion, but he could certainly be a target for the team late in the draft whether or not they get a corner early on.