Penn State Football: Joey Porter Jr Selected in the 2nd Round of the NFL Draft

With the 32nd pick in the 2023 NFL draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Joey Porter Jr from Penn State.

After last night when he did not hear his name called, many believed Porter Jr would’ve been selected in the first round of the NFL draft. Nevertheless, the Steelers got the steal of the draft by selecting Porter Jr with the first pick in the 2nd round. I’m sure he will use this situation as fuel as he moves forward with his NFL career.

During the 2022 season with Penn State, Porter Jr had 11 pass breakups, 1 fumble recovery, and 27 tackles. He set a school record with 6 pass breakups in the 2022 season opener against Purdue.

He’s strong in press-man coverage, he has many highlights but the one below is my favorite from the 2022 season. Here you can see why he was a first-round pick tonight. He gets his head around, and what scouts love the most are his long arms to disrupt wide receivers.

Porter Jr stands at 6’2 which allows him to remain balanced when pressing at the line of scrimmage. One of the elements of his game that he improved on during the 2022 season was cleaning up his penalties.

During the end of the 2021 season, it felt like more times than not he was getting flagged for pass interference. But during the 2022 season, he became less handsy and more confident in trusting his skillset.

As the NFL draft goes on, hopefully, we will hear many more Penn State football players’ names’ called. But Porter Jr had a terrific career at Penn State, and there is no doubt in my mind that he will excel at the next level.

He’s also a great ambassador for the Penn State football brand, having Porter Jr be selected so high in the NFL draft, only helps PSU’s recruiting efforts in the future. Congrats, Joey!