Tim Benz: Sharpening Joey Porter Jr.'s skills every bit as important as new additions to secondary

Most of the attention on the Steelers’ secondary has been centered on new guys coming in and some key contributors heading out.

Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay, Brandin Echols and Juan Thornhill are chief among the new additions. The likes of Minkah Fitzpatrick, Donte Jackson and Damontae Kazee are playing elsewhere.

Potentially the biggest variable, though, is one player who has been in Pittsburgh his whole life.

That’s third-year cornerback Joey Porter Jr. In his rookie season of 2023, the North Allegheny graduate showed the material that made him worthy of being the first pick of the second round. He was fifth in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. A sturdy foundation was set for what many hoped would be a breakout year in 2024.

But a late-season injury, a lack of big plays on the ball and 17 penalty flags in his NFL sophomore season failed to elevate the Penn State product into that elite stratosphere the Steelers were hoping to see.

With all the moving parts in the secondary this summer, a buried storyline is how much better Porter needs to get to make that whole plan work.

“It’s a big year for him, Year 3. He’s really excited about it,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Wednesday. “I think it’s really good to have some established veterans around him that have been over some of the ground that he aspires to cover. Guys like Jalen and Slay are really helpful to him in terms of just having been there and done that. He’s had a good process. I think the company he keeps, those two savvy veterans, has a lot to do with it as well.”

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During training camp, defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander was deliberate in his agenda to hone Porter’s technique in an effort to avoid so many flags.

“Joey is an aggressive player, especially at the line of scrimmage with his hands,” Alexander said. “At that point, how do we focus on the result that we want beyond the line of scrimmage, where I think he’s very effective? Now it’s getting him to train his mindset to trust his technique. Trust his transition. Get his eyes back, to be able to find the ball when it’s in the air, to be able to go make a play. That really has been the emphasis.”

Before leaving for the practice field on Wednesday, Porter said he’s been embracing the tips from Alexander and the rest of the staff.

“I cleaned up some of my technique,” Porter said. “Minor stuff. It wasn’t really a lot of dissecting I really had to do. I did that this offseason. Keep stacking days.”

Porter said a lot of that nuanced work had to do not only with his hands and feet at the line of scrimmage but also with learning the intricacies of the game plan.

“Just understanding the defense. Really communicating with the guys like I’ve been preaching all offseason. That’s really the main two things,” Porter added.

Underscoring Tomlin’s point, the 34-year-old Slay has been sure to be a sounding board and a veteran influence on Porter.

“I take pride in that. I feel like that’s one of my special gifts. That’s one of my favorite roles of being able to play this game. Being able to mentor young guys,” Slay said this week. “Sharing my knowledge of the game to make them become a better player.”

Slay doesn’t see that part of his presence in Pittsburgh as something subtle or inferred. He says it’s directly part of why he signed a contract with the Steelers.

“That’s what my job is here. I even told Joey myself, ‘I’m here to help you become the best version of yourself. Whatever you need from me, just ask and I’ll give it to you. I’m not here to hide details. I’m not here secretly competing against you about who is going to be the best corner.’ I like helping him become one of the best in the game.”

For now, Porter isn’t in that realm. But he was drafted with the idea that he could be that someday. The same thing could be said for the guy who was taken 18 picks in front of him — Steelers offensive tackle Broderick Jones.

If the Steelers are to even hint at what they want to be in 2025, those two players have to take massive strides this year.