There’s Something Missing About Joey Porter Jr.

Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr. has drawn rave reviews from many NFL Draft platforms.

Sports Illustrated, Pro Football Network, Fansided, CBS, SBNation, Yahoo Sports, NBC Sports Chicago, The Sporting News, The Athletic, 247Sports, Bleacher Report, Draftwire, Yardbarker, Walter Football, Draft Kings and the San Diego Union Tribune have all placed first-round grades on Porter.

However, as a former NFL Scout, I did not see an elite lockdown, shutdown cornerback on game film.

I saw a decent, but inconsistent off-man, zone No. 2 cover corner.

There were things to like, and there were things I really did not like.

Porter is way too inconsistent and reluctant in support

He wants little to nothing in run support, and that is not the type of player that moves the meter.

In a big game in 2021 against Ohio State, he looked like he wanted nothing to do with getting involved in stopping a couple of running plays down by the goal-line. He was also easily blocked out when his team was down 30-24 near the end of the game.

There were a couple of pass plays when he tried to come downhill and make the tackle after the catch, but he missed. There was another pass to a tight-end short and he came up and missed that tackle too.

Sure, playing corner in the NFL is mostly about pass coverage, but make no mistake corners need to be willing to sacrifice themselves on running plays too, especially when it’s needed.

Questionable desire to win

I saw enough on film to question his will to win.

It wasn’t just the reluctance in run support either.

There were a couple deep passing attempts against Auburn he fell into a trail position, but then he showed the speed to catch Ohio State’s wide receiver Jaxson Smith-Njigba from behind when he was off the races.

There were a number of completions he gave up on intermediate curl and comeback routes when he gave up too much cushion in off-man and arrived after the damage had been done.

However, against the Buckeyes, he showed he could direction quickly and got his long arm in there to knock away a pass by the sideline at the intermediate level – – and looked far more aggressive doing it.

So, it’s in him, it’s just not consistently showing up on game film and that’s a real concern.

Inconsistent technique

When the ball was in the air a couple times, he managed to break up the passes because of his long arms and ability to adjust in the air, but it really looked like he was guessing.

He mistimed a jam and ended up trailing slightly in press man coverage.

Porter was also noticeably hesitant at a route breakpoint when provided a cushion when the receiver broke it outside.

It may sound like minor details, but he didn’t look smooth enough in coverage.

#9 Joey Porter Jr. 6-foot-2, 198 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s Grade: Third Round – Early Fall 2022 Report

First Round Mock Big Board: TBD

Projected by 64.2% of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of October 31, 2022 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

2021 game film reviewed: Auburn, Wisconsin and Ohio State (click to watch games viewed to form this evaluation)

Level of competition: High

2021 stats: 51 tackles (40 solo, 11 assists), 4 passed defended, 1 INT., 1 forced fumble

Note: Allowed 33 receptions for 370 yards and 2 TD in 2021 (pff.com)

Note: Son of Steelers’ legend Joey Porter

2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report:

Inconsistent corner with long arms, good one-gear straight-line speed and athletic ability. Played mostly off-man and zone, but showed he could come up and play press. Able to carry short-to-intermediate straight-line routes and stay in phase, but then tends to give up too much cushion at route break-points and allowed catches too easily in other situations. Tends to be a bend, but don’t break corner with occasional knack for the ball. Didn’t show short-area burst or ability to recover if beat deep. Wants little to do with run support and he has inconsistent tackling technique with mixed results. Does not play up to his ability consistently.

What to watch for during the 2022 college football season:

1. How does he look in press man coverage?
2. Does he show a short-area burst?
3. What are his pass defended/INT. numbers?
4. How does he look vs. the run?

Having consistent shut-down corners is the name of the game and Porter is neither.

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He currently writes for Sports Illustrated New York Jets and he is the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. He can be followed on Twitter @firstroundmock.