Welcome to the 18th daily installment of the NFL Draft 1-through-32 series on DK Pittsburgh Sports, intended to introduce you, a prospect at a time, to the top 32 players in the class on a consensus basis, leading right up to the main event.
That, of course, will be April 27-29, in Kansas City, Mo., though all 32 teams, including the Steelers on the South Side, will operate from their local headquarters.
NO. 18: JOEY PORTER JR.
Penn State cornerback
Porter is the No. 18-rated player on Pro Football Focus' big board. The press-heavy cornerback and son of former Steelers great Joey Porter brings an aggressive style to the position. Could Joey Jr. return home to the Steelers at 17?
COLLEGE BACKGROUND
A second-team All-American and first-team All-Big Ten defender, Porter Jr. was limited to 10 games because of appendicitis in 2022. Porter rose onto the scene with a strong 2021 in which he tallied 50 total tackles and an interception.
In 34 career games, Porter accumulated 113 total tackles, two for loss, while intercepting just one pass. He defended on 20 passes in his career, and 11 came in 2022.
Porter was a consensus four-star recruit out of North Allegheny High School. He chose to play at Penn State among 16 offers, including from Pitt.
NFL COMBINE, PRO DAY
Our Chris Halicke covered Porter at the NFL Combine, and our Cory Giger was on site for Porter's pro day, the latter of which included a Steelers contingency void of Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan because they were at Alabama's pro day the day prior in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
At the Combine, Porter earned an overall score of 81, which ranked ninth among Combine cornerbacks.
Hear from Porter after his pro day:
MOCK DRAFT
The USA Today mock draft consensus tracker has Porter going at No. 12 overall to Houston, with an average draft slotting at 15.167. Our own latest mock draft has Porter going to Washington at No. 16.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE STEELERS' STANDPOINT
Porter paid a top 30 visit to the Steelers -- it was his first on a tour of four, including with Washington, Las Vegas, and Baltimore. Porter played high school football with Tomlin's oldest son and certainly has a bond with the Steelers' coach from that and from Joey Sr's time playing in Pittsburgh.
How strong will that tie be come the end of the month, though?
In an interview on the Rich Eisen Show, Porter said his trip to the South Side was a "great" visit:
COREY'S TAKE
As I've said in previous stories, this draft is absolutely loaded with cornerbacks. It would be totally feasible to see four come off the board within the top 20, and Porter is certainly in that mix.
The main question is, when all of Porter's previous ties with the Steelers are removed and it comes down to just football, does he fit the Tomlin and Teryl Austin system? One thing he would benefit tremendously from, just like any of the other rookies would, is from learning from Patrick Peterson. His athletic frame at nearly 6-foot-3 makes him a desirable man-to-man cover corner for larger receivers, and he would bring that element at a minimum to the Steelers' defense. As I said in my previous 1-through-32, I'd prefer Brian Branch here, but Porter would make for a good pick on the field for the Steelers and off the field for the pomp and circumstance the fans would deliver.
THE REST
1. Alabama QB Bryce Young
2. Georgia DT Jalen Carter
3. Alabama DE Will Anderson Jr.
4. Kentucky QB Will Levis
5. Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud
6. Florida QB Anthony Richardson
7. Illinois CB Devon Witherspoon
8. Texas Tech DE Tyree Wilson
9. TCU WR Quentin Johnston
10. Oregon CB Christian Gonzalez
11. Northwestern OT Peter Skoronski
12. Ohio State WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
13. Pitt DT Calijah Kancey
14. Iowa DE Lukas Van Ness
15. Utah TE Dalton Kincaid
16. Maryland CB Deonte Banks
17. Alabama S Brian Branch
