PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It got picked up by the national media that Steelers second-year defensive back Joey Porter said he was the best corner in the game. Thing is, he is not the only Steelers corner that feels that way.
The question and story came from Mark Kaboly from the Athletic as Joey Porter, Junior said he was the best. New Steelers corner Donte Jackson told us on Thursday.
“You ask me that same question, I’m going to say the same thing,” Jackson said.
Jackson said he loves Porter’s confidence, saying he watched a lot of the Steelers defense last year when he was with Carolina. He said the rookie Porter did a really good job. It gets Jackson excited to see what he will do this year.
They are developing a bond. He said he can tell Porter is a really smart player by the questions he asks and the stuff he sees on the field. Jackson said it doesn’t hurt that his father was a great player with the Steelers.
The coaches have had them flipping sides during the first two weeks of voluntary workouts and Jackson feels like they are essentially the same player in what they are asked to do by a defense. What else is unique about the two is Pro Football Focus had them with the same ranking. But they weren’t tied for first, rather the two likely Steelers starters were tied as 63rd best corners in the NFL in 2023.
“I’ve been a match-follow guy,” Jackson said. “I’ve been in five systems and one thing that always stood the test of time is my ability to make plays, my ability to go out there and match up against the best guys. My ability to go out there and hit and tackle.”
Tackling is an area Jackson believes is one of his strong suits. He said being only 5’10”, 180 pounds, people don’t expect him to come up and hit. Last season he had 59 tackles (49 solo) and five tackles for loss. He said the Steelers told him he will be a perfect corner for the AFC North because of his physicality.
Where Jackson gets dinged is only one turnover and that was a forced fumble. He played 16 games with the Panthers with no interceptions. It’s the first season in his NFL career he didn’t have a pick, he had 14 his first five seasons in 60 starts.
“I feel like when it comes to playing corner, you can do all the rankings and stuff, but I feel like I’m the complete guy,” Jackson said Thursday. “I don’t care about putting myself up in all that, I just care about being a solid, consistent guy. That’s what I’ve been my whole career.”
“The tape don’t lie.”
It’s a pair of corners, each with something to prove and each as confident as the next. If they can come close to backing up their talk, it would answer a big question going into the season.