He\u2019s had a strong first three seasons in the NFL, having not allowed a touchdown to this point in his career, but one of the biggest knocks on fourth-year Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. as he finds himself in position to land a big extension is the fact that his ball skills are so rough.<\/p>\n
Specifically, his ball skills are rough<\/a> when it comes to finishing plays and recording interceptions. It was a huge knock on him coming out of Penn State as he had just one career interception in college, and so far in the NFL he has one interception in each season, giving him three for his career.<\/p>\n Despite the lack of interceptions, Porter had a phenomenal third season. He held opposing quarterbacks to under 50% completions when targeted in coverage, and he had a career-high 11 pass breakups. Those are high-level numbers, yet all most analysts get caught up on with Porter is his past penalty history and the lack of interceptions to this point in his career.<\/p>\n So, entering his fourth season in the NFL, Porter hopes to repeat history in the season opener against the Atlanta Falcons and quarterback Michael Penix Jr.<\/p>\n Though Penix is still recovering from a torn ACL suffered last season, he\u2019s at least throwing this offseason<\/a> and working in 7-on-7 situations. We\u2019ll see if he\u2019s cleared for contact in training camp and putting himself in position to start the season opener against the Steelers.<\/p>\n Porter likely hopes he will, because the only interception Porter had in college came against Penix.<\/p>\n Take a look.<\/p>\n It came back in the 2021 season at Beaver Stadium in a matchup of No. 4 Penn State against Indiana \u2014 before the Hoosiers became the juggernaut they are now.<\/p>\n Porter showed off some ball skills there, sliding underneath an errant Penix throw to pick off the pass in an eventual 24-0 win<\/a>. Again, it was Porter\u2019s only interception of his collegiate career.<\/p>\n Though Penix went on to transfer to Washington and eventually work his way into becoming a top 10 pick, Porter hasn\u2019t had a crack at him in the NFL. That could occur in Week 1, depending on Penix\u2019s recovery.<\/p>\n