Joey Porter Jr. gets high praise from Steelers legend Mel Blount

Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. had one of his best games of the season Sunday night during the team’s 37-15 win over the New York Jets. According to the Pro Football Focus numbers, he yielded just one reception for 9 yards over the course of 57 defensive snaps.

That was despite having to follow the likes of Davante Adams and Garrett Wilson during the game, with future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers throwing the ball. It’s the fourth time this year Porter has allowed two or fewer catches in a game.

Prior to the contest, Porter received the praise of Steelers Hall of Famer cornerback Mel Blount. He was on hand for the 50th-anniversary ceremony to honor the 1974 Super Bowl IX championship team.

“I think Joey is a great young talent. He is playing well,” Blount said. “He is only going to get better. We’re blessed to have him.”

Blount says he can remember Porter as a young kid while his father, Joey Porter Sr., was an All-Pro linebacker with the Steelers from 1999-2006.

“I know Joey. I know his dad,” Blount said. “I knew him when he was growing up here in Pittsburgh. I think he is really someone you can build your secondary around.”

Like Blount (6-foot-3, 205), Porter Jr. (6-2, 194) has all the size and physical tools needed to play cornerback in the NFL. The 24-year-old just has to refine his craft in a way that Blount did.

A criticism of Porter dating back to his days at Penn State is that he can play with his hands too much and that he grabs too much for the officials’ liking. Last year, he was flagged 12 times. He has drawn four penalties this year, one for pass interference, two for defensive holding and another for illegal use of hands.

But Blount says those issues can be overcome.

“It’s all a part of learning,” Blount said. “This is just his second year. He is going to get better. He is going to learn how to get on these receivers without penalties. But it is tough to play defense now. That’s just a part of it, pass interference. If you can keep it to a minimum and make the plays when you are supposed to make them, I think he is going to be just fine.”

During Tuesday’s press conference, Mike Tomlin also had good things to say about Porter’s development.

“I thought Joey was really solid,” Tomlin said of Porter’s performance Sunday. “He is getting more solid because of the attention to detail and the urgency that he’s taken to practice. He’s really evolving as a developing professional in terms of where to set his energy and focus his energies in practice settings.”

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Tomlin says Porter is getting better at honing his craft based on the nuances of the game plans, coverage schemes and individual opponents he is facing on a weekly basis.

“The schematics you choose to employ change week to week,” Tomlin said. “The talent on the other side changes. It requires different adjustments. I think that he’s no longer taking a cookie-cutter approach to his prep. I think he’s got enough experience now where he’s able to cater his approach to best position him to perform with a high level of consistency.”

To that point, this past week, Porter spoke on a few occasions about studying how Rodgers and Adams worked together when they were teammates at Green Bay so the defense knew what to expect from Adams in his first game as Jet, having been acquired earlier in the week.

“We knew that he and (Rodgers) had a relationship,” Porter said. “They played together for a long time. We knew they were going to have similar tendencies as they used to do. We just had to stand up and play.”

Adams ended the night with just three catches on nine targets for 30 yards.

On Monday night, Porter and the rest of the Steelers (5-2) get to face New York’s other team, the New York Giants. Like the Jets, they are also 2-5. The Giants are averaging just 5.8 yards per pass attempt, 27th in the league.

Like Blount’s teams of the 1970s used to do, now would be an excellent time to exert their will upon a lesser foe and go into the bye at 6-2.

After the bye, things get harder as the Steelers will play six games against their AFC North rivals. They also have to face the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and have two more against the Philadelphia Eagles (4-2) and Washington Commanders (5-2).

But with Porter anchoring one corner in the secondary, Blount likes their chances.

“He is one of those players that can be a cornerstone, someone who can be a leader in that secondary,” Blount said. “I like him. He is a great young player.”