Will Steelers keep it all in the family and draft CB Joey Porter Jr. in 1st round?

It is no secret the Pittsburgh Steelers, a family-run business on its third generation of Rooney ownership, are attracted to bloodlines in their players.

Given that at one point last summer, the Steelers had four sets of brothers — from the Watt, Edmunds, Heyward and Davis families — on the offseason roster, they are more enamored with genetics than a genealogist.

So it stands to reason they would have a deep-rooted interest in Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr., son of the long-time former Steelers linebacker and assistant coach — and one of the top prospects at his position in the 2023 draft class.

The feeling appears to be mutual.

Porter talked with the media Thursday at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis and faced the inevitable questions about what it would be like to play for the Steelers.

“I think it would probably mean a lot for me and my family being in the Pittsburgh area for a little bit now,” Porter said. “Staying at home would mean a lot.”

Although he wasn’t born in Pittsburgh, Porter Jr. has lived in the region since his father returned to the organization in 2014 as an assistant coach. After attending North Catholic and then North Allegheny, where he emerged as a two-way player and four-star prospect, Porter accepted a scholarship to Penn State.

While dad was on coach Mike Tomlin’s staff for five years before his dismissal after the 2018 season, Porter became what he calls “close friends” with Mason and Dino Tomlin.

“We played boys and girls club basketball at a young age when I moved to Pittsburgh,” Porter said. “We did just have that bond.”

The Porters continue to remain close to the organization. Joey Porter was spotted around the team’s South Side practice facility on multiple occasions last season and after Joey Jr. declared for the draft in late November, he spent time training at the indoor facility.

Porter, with his 6-foot-2, 194-pound frame, and the Steelers, who could use a lockdown cornerback, would seem to be a perfect union with the No. 17 overall pick.

“It would be fun if Porter were to get there,” NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said. “I don’t think he’ll fall that far.”

Porter is one of three cornerbacks — Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez and Illinois’ Devon Witherspoon are the others — who carry grades that could have them selected in the top half of the first round. Which would be out of the Steelers’ range, unless they trade up.

History suggests the Steelers should avoid a cornerback with that top pick. Since drafting Hall of Famer Rod Woodson in 1987, the Steelers have used just three first-round picks on the position – Deon Figures in 1993, Chad Scott in 1997 and Artie Burns in 2016. None made a Pro Bowl appearance.

Still, the Steelers finished No. 19 in passing yards allowed last season and could lose top corner Cameron Sutton to free agency. And with general manager Omar Khan adding assistant GM Andy Weidl and shaking up his scouting staff, the Steelers could feel comfortable with a fresh approach to drafting a corner in the first round.

Which is where Porter Jr. and his pedigree fit in.

“My family really motivated me, just really a legacy standpoint for me,” he said. “My dad’s been there before. He’s done it. I want to do the same thing and just be better. That’s the main thing. He always told me that he wants me to be better than him, so that’s what I’m trying to do, and that’s why I’m here.”

Porter could have left Penn State after 2021, his redshirt sophomore season, when he started 13 games and had an interception — his only one in college, as it would turn out. He decided to return for one more season and despite the lack of picks, he played well enough to be named a second-team All-American and first-team all-Big Ten selection.

“I had a hard conversation with my parents, and they told me I wasn’t ready,” Porter said. “I took that and listened to them because my dad’s been here before.”

If Porter has a respectable showing in the 40-yard dash Friday, he can cement his status as perhaps the premier cornerback at the combine.

“He can work through wide receivers to get to the ball,” Jeremiah said. “He can high-point it. He is more play the ball, poke it away, get your hands on the football. I wish he would finish a little bit better, catch more of them, but he is always in good position.

“Even when he is out of phase, his length allows him to close that down. Takes him about three steps to build the speed, but once he gets those three steps going, he’s rolling. He’s a really good player.”