First Call: Joey Porter Jr. on prospect of falling to Steelers — or beyond; 40 years since Steelers passed on Dan Marino
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Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr. seems to have the Pittsburgh Steelers in mind as a potential end to his NFL Draft wait Thursday night.
Wednesday marked the 40th anniversary of an infamous Steelers draft memory. The Pirates look to take a third straight series from the Los Angeles Dodgers. And at least one of the NHL’s partner networks seems happy with the playoff product.
All that in Thursday’s “First Call.”
Porter pinpoints pick
Joey Porter Jr. certainly makes sense as a draft choice for the Steelers at No. 17. His father, Joey Porter Sr., was an All-Pro Super Bowl winner with the team. He is also a former assistant coach on Mike Tomlin’s staff.
The Penn State cornerback played high school football at North Catholic and North Allegheny. The Steelers need a corner. And most draft outlets have Porter as the third or fourth cornerback available in the draft, slotted somewhere in the top 20-25 picks.
Appearing with Mike Florio on ProFootballTalk, Porter seems to think he won’t fall past the Steelers at No. 17. But he’s been told it could happen.
“All my people, everybody I have been hearing from, is telling me that it may go from seven to 17. Or it might go seven to 20. I’m ready for the moment. Any outcome that happens I’m blessed to be in that situation. And I’m just ready to play,” Porter said.
Porter has been predicted as the Steelers’ most likely pick for months because of the ties here and the club’s need at corner. But the Washington Commanders pick one slot ahead of Pittsburgh, and they have also been frequently projected as a potential destination for Porter Jr.
When Porter Jr. mentioned the seventh pick, that’s the Las Vegas Raiders, a team he visited earlier this month.
Back in the archives
Wednesday marked the 40th anniversary of the Steelers bypassing Pitt Panther star quarterback Dan Marino in the first round of the fabled 1983 NFL Draft. Instead they took Texas Tech’s Gabe Rivera at pick 21.
It’s one of the most regrettable decisions in Steelers history. A Pittsburgh Central Catholic product, Marino ended up in the Hall of Fame after going to the Miami Dolphins at pick 27.
Ryan Recker of WTAE posted this classic clip of an interview with Marino outside of his home in Oakland following his selection.
40 years ago today, the Dolphins drafted Dan Marino.
Here was his reaction that day outside of his house in Oakland, shortly after getting the call from Don Shula.#Pitt pic.twitter.com/OtQNkmcRP2
— Ryan Recker (@RyanRecker) April 26, 2023
Marino ended up throwing 420 touchdowns and passed for 61,361 yards. Five quarterbacks were taken ahead of Marino, including Hall of Famers John Elway (Broncos via the Colts) and East Brady’s Jim Kelly (Bills). Penn State’s Todd Blackledge (Chiefs), Illinois’ Tony Eason (Patriots) and Ken O’Brien (Jets) of UC Davis were the other three.
As for Rivera, on Oct. 20th of his rookie season, the defensive lineman got into a car accident that ended his career. Driving under the influence of alcohol, he was thrown from his car while on Babcock Boulevard. He suffered spinal injuries as a result and ended up paralyzed for the remainder of his life. Rivera died in 2018 at the age of 57 in Texas.
More sports
• Former Pirates great Dick Groat dead at 92
• ESPN reporter says this pass rusher ‘won’t make it past’ Steelers’ 1st-round draft pick
• U mad, bro?: Penguins fans still frothing, Steelers fans show little faith ahead of the draft
Consistent Keller
The Pirates look to wrap up a series win against the Los Angeles Dodgers at 12:35 p.m. Thursday afternoon. Mitch Keller pitches for the Pirates.
Keller has posted a quality start in all of his first four outings, lasting at least six innings and yielding three earned runs or fewer each time. The right hander is 2-0 with an ERA of 3.64. As a staff, the Pirates have the most quality starts in the Major Leagues with 15. The Dodgers have the second-most in the National League with 12.
However, today’s starter for L.A., Julio Urias, has had a few bumpy outings his last two trips to the mound. He lost back-to-back games to the Chicago Cubs. The lefty allowed a total of eight runs over nine innings. He also allowed four home runs.
In his first two starts, though, Urias yielded just one run in 12 innings against the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants.
Via ESPN.com, over their past 10 games, the Pirates are 8-2, with a .289 team batting average, and a 2.69 ERA team ERA. They have outscored opponents by 35 runs during that stretch.
Ratings watch
Warner Bros. Discovery is pumping out some press about its ratings for NHL playoff games.
The company tweeted that the Sunday and Monday Game 4’s they broadcast are up 36% in terms of an average audience from 2022. Overall, the coverage is up 17% through the fourth game of each series on WBD platforms.
WBD Sports' first week coverage of the 2023 #StanleyCupPlayoffs across TNT & TBS delivered impressive audience growth & set some new records.
By the numbers ???? pic.twitter.com/jVxbSd55qZ
— Warner Bros. Discovery Sports U.S. PR (@WBDSportsPR) April 25, 2023
As you can see in the tweet, the series between the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers is doing particularly well. The Panthers just forced a sixth game in that matchup thanks to a 4-3 overtime victory Wednesday. That game will be on TNT on Friday night.
TBS has Game 5 of Toronto versus Tampa Bay Thursday, while ESPN2 will carry Game 5 contests of the New York Rangers-New Jersey Devils series and the Vegas Golden Knights-Winnipeg Jets series.