Steelers must continue growing role of promising rookie

One of the Steelers rookies from the 2023 NFL Draft continues to impress more and more every week, but the team won't commit to making him an every-down starter. That must change.

CB Joey Porter Jr., son of former LB Joey Porter, continued his lockdown coverage in Week 7, allowing zero catches and forcing one incompletion on three targets. The rookie now has one interception, three forced incompletions and allowed just one catch for 12 yards on 96 snaps, per Pro Football Focus.

Head coach Mike Tomlin did hint last week that his time could be coming but that it just isn't time yet.

"With each week, they all are [close to starting]," Tomlin said. "There's some variables at play with what they do and the quality that they do it. Things and decisions don't happen in a vacuum."

The decision to not start Porter Jr. would make sense if cornerbacks Patrick Peterson and Levi Wallace were playing well in front of him, but that isn't the case.

The veterans have been consistently picked on and Pro Football Focus even ranked them among the NFL's worst cornerbacks.

Porter Jr. did seem to begin passing Wallace as he recorded 53 snaps played against the Rams compared to Wallace's 49 snaps. But the rookie has done more than enough to prove he should be a full-time starter.

Porter Jr. will get to make another case for himself to start in Week 8 when the Steelers (4-2) host the Jaguars (5-2). It won't be easy facing one of the better up-and-coming quarterbacks in the league in Trevor Lawrence, but Porter Jr. hasn't shown any signs of backing down to a challenge yet.

Jacksonville is passing for nearly 223 yards per game. Porter Jr. will do his best to bring those numbers down.