Penn State cornerback makes prominent analyst’s position rankings for 2023 NFL Draft

The 2023 NFL Draft is still 11 months or so away, but Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr. continues to be a popular name as various analysts and pundits set the stage for the 2022 college football season.

ESPN NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. is the latest to highlight Porter as a prospect to know for next year’s draft with the release of his Big Board and position rankings Tuesday.

While Porter didn’t make Kiper’s top 25 prospects, the redshirt junior checked in at No. 6 in Kiper’s cornerback rankings. Porter was the lone Penn State player to be listed on either the Big Board or in the position rankings.

In the immediate aftermath of this year’s draft, Porter was a popular pick in the first round of “way-too-early” projections for 2023. In one roundup, Porter went anywhere from No. 16 to No. 31 overall. And after the dust had settled a little bit more, Porter went in the first round of two more mock drafts from notable analysts.

Kiper’s ESPN colleague, Todd McShay, projected Porter to go to the Seattle Seahawks with the No. 25 overall pick: “At 6-foot-2 and 192 pounds, Porter has size on the outside and some versatility, though he has only one career interception. I like the upside of defensive backs Coby Bryant and Tariq Woolen, midround picks for Seattle this year, but the Seahawks really need a potential star to improve this pass D.”

As McShay highlights, Porter’s physical build makes him an appealing prospect at the next level. Plus, his NFL bloodlines as the son of former NFL pass rusher Joey Porter help, too.

The younger Porter finished the 2021 season with 51 tackles, one interception, four pass breakups and one forced fumble in 13 games. He was named third-team All-Big Ten by the coaches and honorable mention by the media.

On Christmas Day, Porter announced he planned to return to Penn State for his fourth season. He has two more seasons of eligibility remaining, though it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him ascend to the next level sooner rather than later.

First, though, there are high expectations for Porter to play a key role in a defense that is replacing a number of key starters under new defensive coordinator Manny Diaz.

“We expect Joey to anchor the cornerback room,” cornerbacks coach Terry Smith said in April. “Between him and [Ji'Ayir Brown], those guys have played the most football, and they have to produce. We expect them guys to be high production, and hopefully Joey can take a side of the field away. And he's had a great spring. When he's on the field, everybody on the offense knows it. His presence is felt. He's tough to get off of releases. The guy's physical. He had a big hit Monday at practice. He's imposing, and we just got to continue to build on that and build his confidence and fine tune him and get him healthy all the way and get him stronger. He's a big guy, so we're expecting a lot from him.”

Penn State had two defensive backs selected in the 2022 NFL Draft in safety Jaquan Brisker (No. 48 to Chicago Bears) and cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields (No. 221 to San Francisco 49ers). For what it's worth, Lions247's Tyler Donohue projects Porter to be the first Penn State player selected in the 2023 NFL Draft.