If the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to finally break out of their playoff slump, it will need to be on the back of their defense. With so much change on offense and a 42-year-old quarterback, Pittsburgh’s defense will need to do a lot of the heavy lifting, especially early in the season.
To be fair, that’s been the case for the last several seasons, but it’s even more the case this year with new starters galore on offense. Pittsburgh’s defense remains largely unchanged when it comes to personnel, but there is a new coaching staff that should help this unit not feel so stagnant.
However, the only way the defense can really take the next step is if a few young players can make a leap. It’s an older defense with a few key starters likely on the decline, so players like Joey Porter Jr. must continue their rapid development.
Pittsburgh Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr. could be an All-Pro selection in 2026
In a recent article by Bradley Locker of Pro Football Focus, he named 10 players who could have their first All-Pro season in 2026. That list included several extremely talented players like Justin Herbert, Colston Loveland, and DeVonta Smith, all of whom are expected to have huge 2026 campaigns.
The list also included Porter, whom Locker believes is primed for a breakout season. Among the factors that could help Porter reach the next level are his new defensive coordinator (Patrick Graham) and better cornerback play opposite him with Jamel Dean. Here is a snippet of why Locker believes Porter could be among the best defensive backs in the NFL this year:
“In his three years as a pro, Porter has gone from talented but inconsistent youngster to an outright lockdown cornerback. Porter made a legitimate leap in Year 3, with his 76.6 PFF coverage grade the 10th-highest among qualifiers at the position. The Steelers standout also placed third in forced incompletion rate (24%) and fourth in snaps per reception (17.5).”
Another interesting tidbit from the article was Porter's stable metrics from the previous season. Porter ranked in the 90th percentile among all cornerbacks in the following categories, according to PFF: coverage grade (90th), grade in single coverage (91st), coverage grade on passes under three seconds (93rd), forced incompletion percentage (96th), and slot grade (97th).
The only real knocks on Porter are the lack of takeaways (three interceptions in three seasons) and penalties, but he has done a better job of limiting the flags over the last few seasons.
Porter has been the most consistent defensive back for the Steelers for the past two seasons, and of their five starters, he is the youngest and has the most upside. It’s also worth noting that Porter is going into the final year of his contract, which makes this discussion all the more fascinating.
Do Omar Khan and the Steelers try to get ahead of an All-Pro season now and give Porter a new deal? Or does Porter want to play out the 2026 season and then hit free agency in 2027, coming off another monster year? Pittsburgh would assuredly franchise tag Porter in that scenario, but you get the point.
Everything is lining up for Porter to have a career year in Pittsburgh, and the Steelers desperately need that to happen if they want to become a dominant defense again. Time will tell if that’s the case, but his upward trajectory suggests that Porter could very well be one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL by the end of the 2026 season.
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