Joey Porter Jr. Ready to Take Next Step Dallas Cowboys' Defense Desperately Needs

The Dallas Cowboys sure could use more snaps out of cornerback Joey Porter Jr. in his second game with the team.

Porter made his 2026 and Cowboys debut on Sunday in the 34-30 win over the Houston Texans and, according to Next Gen Stats, played 24 of a possible 54 snaps for Dallas.

The former Pittsburgh Steelers second-round pick was extremely effective in those snaps and with the Cowboys' secondary banged up and struggling the way it has been all season, it goes without saying more Porter is needed.

Joey Porter Jr. ready for more snaps

Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. (24) on the sidelines during the first quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Well, Porter was asked about possibly playing more snaps in the Week 5 contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and he said he's all for it as long as the Cowboys are.

“I feel comfortable about that, but it’s all really up to the coaches and what they have for me. I just got here not too long ago, so I’m still trying to learn everything and get the grasp of how things are run here. So it’s really up to them," Porter said, per Tommy Yarrish of DallasCowboys.com.

Porter brings up another valid subject when talking about an increase in his snaps.

Not only has he not had much practice and playing time this year, which could impact his conditioning, he's also trying to learn a new defense on the fly, which only makes his acclimation tougher. And, this week adds another challenge with it being a short week.

That said, if Porter feels comfortable enough to take on more, the Cowboys are almost certainly going to give it to him because, again, they desperately need him on the field.

How Joey Porter Jr. fared in his debut

Porter immediately showed why defensive coordinator Christian Parker calls him a "boundary eraser."

Over his 24 snaps, Porter spent 19 of them in coverage. And, in those 19 coverage snaps, he was only targeted once and didn't allow a completion. Porter lined up against Nico Collins for five snaps and zero targets came his way on those.

The only problem was Porter's presence made the Texans more inclined to pick on DaRon Bland, who was as bad as he has been for two years running now.

That's something Dallas needs to figure, and the likely solution will be to play Cobie Durant over Bland, assuming the Cowboys don't deploy Durant in the slot with Caleb Downs needed more at the safety spot due to injuries to P.J. Locke and Jalen Thompson.

On the bright side, the Cowboys had two boundary cornerback spots to worry about before Porter's arrival. Now, they only have one and that's about all this struggling defense can ask for.

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