| Joey Porter Jr. | |
| Current Team: | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Number: | 24 |
| Position: | Cornerback |
| Birth Date: | 26 July 2000 |
| Birth Place: | Bakersfield, California, U.S. |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 2 |
| Weight Lb: | 193 |
| College: | Penn State (2019–2022) |
| Draftyear: | 2023 |
| Draftround: | 2 |
| Draftpick: | 32 |
| Pastteams: |
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| Status: | Active |
| Highlights: |
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| Statweek: | 11 |
| Statseason: | 2024 |
| Statlabel1: | Total tackles |
| Statvalue1: | 82 |
| Statlabel2: | Pass deflections |
| Statvalue2: | 15 |
| Statlabel3: | Interceptions |
| Statvalue3: | 2 |
| Pfr: | PortJo02 |
Joseph Eugene Porter Jr. (born July 26, 2000) is an American professional football cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions and was selected by the Steelers in the second round of the 2023 NFL draft. He is the son of the former NFL linebacker Joey Porter, who the Steelers selected in the 1999 NFL draft.
Porter Jr. attended North Catholic High School in Cranberry Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania, before transferring to North Allegheny Senior High School in Wexford, Pennsylvania.[1] He played cornerback and wide receiver in high school. He committed to Penn State to play college football.[2]
In his first year at Penn State in 2019, Porter Jr. played in four games and had three tackles. In 2020, he started all eight games recording 33 tackles and one sack.[3] [4] In 2021, he started all 13 games and had 50 tackles and one interception.
| Season | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solo | Ast | Cmb | TfL | Sck | Int | Yds | Avg | TD | PD | FR | FF | TD | |||
| Penn State Nittany Lions | |||||||||||||||
| 2019 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2020 | 24 | 9 | 33 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2021 | 39 | 11 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2022 | 21 | 6 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career | 86 | 27 | 113 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
Porter Jr. was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round (32nd overall) of the 2023 NFL draft, which was originally obtained from the Chicago Bears in a mid-season trade for Chase Claypool.[5] He recorded his first NFL interception in Week 6 against the Baltimore Ravens.[6] As a rookie, he appeared in 17 games and started 11 in the 2023 season.[7] He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.[8] As a rookie, Porter's performances were marred by several penalties throughout the season. In his rookie season alone, Porter was penalized 12 times in total, tying him sixth in the NFL for the most penalties on a single player for the 2023 season.[9] These penalties resulted in a total of 75 yards being given to opposing teams in the form of penalty yards.[10]
Through the first three weeks of the 2024 season, Porter only allowed four receptions for 40 yards on six targets, with PFF ranking him third in PFF grading for the Steelers defense.[11] Across all three games, Porter recorded six tackles and three assists. In Week 5 against the Dallas Cowboys, Porter would get his first interception of the season and the second of his career in a narrow 17-20 Steelers loss.[12]
He is the son of Joey Porter, a former NFL linebacker for the Steelers, Miami Dolphins, and Arizona Cardinals.[13]