While most draft picks have to fly into their new city, Joey Porter Jr. was already home when the Steelers took him with the 32nd overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. A Pittsburgh area native, Porter was inside the Steelers' facility shortly after Pittsburgh selected him on Friday night.
Porter, the son of former Pittsburgh standout outside linebacker Joey Porter, honored his dad during his first moments as a member of the Steelers. Along with his new draft cap, Porter wore a Steelers hoodie that his dad wore during his time as an assistant on Mike Tomlin's coaching staff.
The hoodie @JoeyPorterJr is wearing is his dad, Joey Porter Sr., hoodie and has a patch on the sleeve honoring late @steelers Chairman Daniel M. Rooney (DMR). Meant a lot to him to wear it tonight when he came to the Steelers office for the first time as part of the team. https://t.co/2gDKIObFeM
— Teresa Varley (@Teresa_Varley) April 29, 2023
Porter is clearly proud of his dad, who held him in his right arm shortly after the Steelers defeated the Seahawks in Super Bowl XL. That win was the pinnacle of Porter's 13-year NFL career that saw him earn four Pro Bowl nods while being named to the NFL's All-2000s Team.
While he may be playing for his dad's old team, Porter is hoping to create his own legacy as a member of the black and gold.
"It's going to bring my flavor to it," Porter said, via WPXI's Jenna Harner. "it's me, it's not him. He understands that it's my time to shine. He did what he had to do, and it's my time right now. I'm going to get my fans' attention with that. I'm going to play hard ball."
Porter received a lot of attention for his play at Penn State. According to the Steelers PR team, Porter was targeted 14 times in Penn State's 2022 opener against Purdue. Porter had six pass breakups in that game, a 35-31 win. He was then target a mere 16 times over the final nine games of the season. He led all Power 5 cornerbacks with 40.0 forced incompletion percentage.
"He's got a lot of great attributes," Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said of the Steelers' new cornerback. "Size, length, competitive, tough. Really good. Really glad we were able to get him to come in and contribute to our team. We're looking forward to him coming in, competing and having an opportunity to help us win games this year. There's no red shirts, none of that stuff. Hopefully, when he gets here, we'll get right to work.
Despite his impressive tangibles and intangibles, Porter was not selected during the first night of the draft. Like his father used every perceived slight to fuel his competitive fire, Porter is using his draft "slide" as further motivation to excel on the next level.
"Last night, I was mad," Porter said of not hearing his name called in the first round. "I had an edge on me. This is the perfect way to end my day right here. ... I'm ready. I've got a chip on my shoulder. I'm trying to prove myself."
