The Pittsburgh Steelers were delighted that Joey Porter Jr, one of the best cornerback prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft and the son of former Pittsburgh player Joey Porter Sr, fell to them on draft night.
Porter Jr, naturally, wasn’t thrilled to fall out of the first round, where many mock NFL Drafts had him projected. But he appeared to feel better about if after listening to a pep talk from Porter Sr, a Super Bowl champion with the Steelers.
Here’s what father said to son on day two of the draft, per NFL films.
“Take it personal.”@joeyporterjr got a much-needed pep talk from dad after getting passed on in round one @Steelers
: Season Finale of #HeyRookie airs tonight 9pm ET on ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/kTvoxq8dvU
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) May 2, 2023
“There’s nothing like motivation, right? They want to see a pissed off football player. Now they got one. You see what I’m saying? So now follow me, when I be giving you little nuggets about what we gotta do and how we gotta work. Just follow me. Because this will be part of the whole motivation now.”
Ready to run through a wall? Porter Sr, a four-time Pro Bowler who’s been around the block in the NFL, told his son to take his fall down the board ‘personal.’
The Steelers legend likely knew it was possible for his son to fall out of the first round. Porter Jr might not have believed it was going to happen.
But it did. And now, just as Porter Sr said, it’s just that much more motivation for the Penn State star to carry with him to the Steelers.
The Steelers, who ranked 19th in passing defense in 2022, could certainly use a motivated Porter.
While he didn’t have many interceptions at the college level, Porter is a big, physical cover corner with the tools to thrive in the NFL.
His fall down the draft board may have given him his mental edge.
The post ‘Take it personal’: Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr’s epic message from his father after falling down NFL Draft board appeared first on ClutchPoints.
