The Joey Porter Jr. trade was always going to invite arguments. The Cowboys paid a 2027 sixth-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick to bring in the cornerback, and they were the most active bidders for him. One view says that was too much for a player whose 2025 numbers were uneven. Another says Dallas may have stepped in and kept the Giants from making a gamble they had no business pursuing.
Now the debate has a date, an opponent and a matchup that should tell everyone something.
Dallas’ next game against the Texans puts Porter opposite Nico Collins, the same receiver he saw in last year’s playoff faceoff. That earlier meeting was a useful snapshot: Porter had a decent night in coverage, while Collins was held to three catches on four targets for 12 yards and no touchdowns. In the Texans’ 34-10 win over Dallas in Week 11 of the 2024 season, Collins also tied for the team lead with four catches for 54 yards.
This time, the setup is different. Collins was active for the first time in two weeks on the practice field, and the Texans are again preparing to feature him in a game that already carries a familiar edge. For the Cowboys, it is the first immediate chance to see whether the Porter trade looks like a smart swing or a costly one.
The numbers behind the move explain why the reactions have been split. Porter allowed a 55.2 opponent completion percentage in 2025, ranking 51st among 62 cornerbacks with at least 50 targets. He also posted a 66.4 passer rating allowed, which ranked 59th among the same group. At the same time, he had the third-lowest passer rating allowed among Steelers defensive backs at 66.0, and he allowed an average of 2.6 yards of separation to pass catchers.
That mix is exactly why the trade has been so easy to argue about. The Cowboys did not pay a first-round price, but they did send out a second-rounder in 2028 and a sixth in 2027 for a cornerback they believed they could land without surrendering a major player. The Giants were linked to Porter before Dallas got him, and one source argued New York had no business pursuing him in the first place.
So the next answer comes on the field, not in the aftermath of the trade. Porter and Collins are the matchup at the center of Texans-Cowboys, and the result will not settle the entire argument by itself. But it should give the first real indication of whether Dallas bought a corner who can hold up in a high-leverage spot, or whether the criticism around the deal was on target from the start.