# Joey Porter Jr.

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.

## Early life

Porter Jr. attended North Catholic High School in Cranberry Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania, before transferring to North Allegheny Senior High School in Wexford, Pennsylvania. He played cornerback and wide receiver in high school. He committed to Penn State to play college football.

## College career

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. In 2021, he started all 13 games and had 50 tackles and one interception.

### College statistics

| Season | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Fumbles | Fumbles | Fumbles |
| Season | 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 |

## Professional career

Pre-draft measurables :
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press |
| 6 ft 2+1⁄2 in (1.89 m) | 193 lb (88 kg) | 34 in (0.86 m) | 10 in (0.25 m) | 4.46 s | 1.50 s | 2.57 s | 37.5 in (0.95 m) | 10 ft 11 in (3.33 m) | 17 reps |

### 2023

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Porter Jr. in the second round (32nd overall) of the 2023 NFL draft. They obtained the draft pick they used to draft Porter during a mid-season trade which they sent wide receiver Chase Claypool to the Chicago Bears.
On July 26, 2023, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Porter to a four-year, $9.61 million contract that includes $8.99 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $3.99 million.
He recorded his first NFL interception in Week 6 against the Baltimore Ravens. As a rookie, he appeared in 17 games and started 11 in the 2023 season. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.
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. These penalties resulted in a total of 75 yards being given to opposing teams in the form of penalty yards.

### 2024

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. 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. During Week 16's loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Porter left the game due to a knee injury, ruling him out of participating in Week 17's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. He returned for Week 18's matchup with the Bengals
Porter ended his sophomore season recording 16 game appearances with 86 targets against 54 completions for a completion percentage of 62.8. He also accounted for 70 tackles during the regular season.
In his second consecutive postseason start, Porter recorded six tackles, only missing one in the entire game and was targeted five times as the Steelers ended their season with a 28-14 loss to the Ravens.

## Personal life

He is the son of Joey Porter, a former NFL linebacker for the Steelers, Miami Dolphins, and Arizona Cardinals.