Joey Porter Jr. trade grades: Projected Cowboys depth chart after deal with Steelers

Just before the brutal loss in Brazil to the Ravens, the Dallas Cowboys were connected to the Pittsburgh Steelers and disgruntled cornerback Joey Porter Jr. That turned out to not be just smoke four days later as the Cowboys have traded for Porter Jr. in a blockbuster deal transpiring heading into Week 4. Tom Pelissero of The Ringer and Netflix Sports was first with the news.

The Cowboys are sending a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 sixth-round pick to the Steelers in the deal, which is a steep price. So let’s dive into the trade grades for the Cowboys and Steelers from this one before looking at the depth chart in Dallas after the deal and amid a number of injuries.

Cowboys and Steelers grades for the Joey Porter Jr. trades

Cowboys grade: C

Joey Porter Jr. will make an impact on this Cowboys defense in a positive way. I don’t want that to go unnoticed when looking at this grade or reacting. But the process to get this point leaves a lot to be desired. Dallas puts themselves in a contractual bind with Porter Jr., who wanted out of Pittsburgh because he wants top-of-market money and wasn’t getting it, and now sacrifices draft capital that the Cowboys are already short on.

And you do this, even for a very talented young player, while talking about trying not to be a top-heavy defense in terms of the salary cap and while also not addressing an even more pressing need on the defense at linebacker. It’s not that Porter Jr. won’t help, it’s that the price paid both now and in the long-term is a bit too expensive for how much of an impact he’s most likely to make.

Steelers grade: A-

The Steelers deserve a ton of credit for how they handled this process. Negotiations between the front office and Porter Jr. clearly indicated that he was looking to be one of the league’s highest-paid cornerbacks, but Pittsburgh was (rightly) reluctant to pay that money. Then, when the season started, they gave their policy that they don’t negotiate in-season. Porter Jr. dug his heels in, and then Pittsburgh was still able to get a nice draft haul for what ultimately amounted to a malcontent expiring contract who wasn’t playing for you anyway.

Yes, Pittsburgh would love for it to be a 2027 second-round pick given the depth and strength of the draft class, but getting a 2028 second plus a late-rounder in 2027 could give them more flexibility to move around in 2027. It’s a fantastic piece of business and probably about as close to their “second-round pick” asking price that they were going to get.

Cowboys depth chart with Joey Porter Jr.

The Cowboys certainly felt compelled to make a move like this because of the rash of injuries that the secondary has been forced to endure over the first three weeks of the season. But with guys like Cobie Durant, Devin Moore and possibly Shavon Revel Jr. out and potentially needing Caleb Downs to move into a more traditional safety role, here’s what the Cowboys depth chart in the secondary likely looks like right now.

With the likes of Durant, Hooker and Revel on the injury report, the Cowboys made a number of veteran signings for the practice squad who feel noteworthy enough to mention when talking about the depth chart. Downs is going to play a pivotal role and have to grow up even quicker as he moves around the formation quite a bit.

But perhaps the most favorable read is zooming out and imagining this group when healthy. Porter Jr. is a great complement to Bland in this defense while Durant might be more valuable in the slot, sharing time with Downs. In any case, the secondary looks far more formidable than it did previously. That doesn’t alleviate questions in the middle of the defense, but it certainly won’t hurt matters for Christian Parker’s unit.