Confidence is the prime mantra for a cornerback in the NFL. Having to cover wide receivers by themselves, the position requires fearlessness and faith in their skills to become elite. Joey Porter Jr. seems to have taken it to heart and imbibed it for the upcoming season.

The Penn State product was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2023 as the 32nd overall pick. Porter worked his way into the starter roster in week eight and had a promising start to his career, playing 17 games. The 23-year-old is entering his second season with an optimistic attitude and made a bold proclamation recently.

Joey Porter Jr. feels he’s the best CB in the league

The rookie was asked who the best cornerback in the league was during the Steelers’ OTA. Porter had a crisp answer and replied, “Me, for sure.” As per The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly, the CB further added, “There are a lot of good DBs in this league. Nobody was doing what I was doing, going against WR1s the entire year and locking him down. I don’t care if I am mentioned in there or not because they are going to hear my name eventually.”

Porter landed fifth in the Defensive Rookie of the Year voting with 35 solo tackles, one interception, and ten defended passes. One area where the Penn State alum struggles is penalties. In 2023, he was responsible for almost 13% of the team’s penalties, being flagged 12 times.

Overall, while his rookie debut looks promising, does it warrant him self-proclaiming the top CB spot?

Are Sauce Gardner & Jaylon Johnson ahead of Porter in numbers?

While Porter’s confidence is admirable, a dive into its validity does deserve a try. It is especially interesting to compare his statistics against those of his contemporaries, such as Chicago Bears’ Jaylon Johnson and New York Jets’ Sauce Gardner. So far, it seems that the Steelers’ cornerback has done quite some work to fulfill his bold words.

Against Porter’s 35 solo tackles and one interception, Gardner had 47 solo tackles and zero interception, while Johnson had 32 solo tackles and four interceptions. As for targets, Porter had 54 against Gardners’ 51 targets and Johnson’s 50. Finally, the 2023 draft pick allowed 25 receptions, the same as Johnson, while the Jets’ CB allowed 29 receptions. While the numbers aren’t too far apart, Porter has a grade of 65.2, which is way behind Gardner’s 88.6 and Johnson’s 90.8.

Joey Porter Jr. is entering his second year in the league with high spirits and brave proclamations. Do you think the Steelers cornerback can prove worthy of the best-in-the-league tag?