The latest trade to kick off NFL deadline season has only made Brett Veach look sharper.
When the Steelers sent Joey Porter Jr. to the Cowboys for a sixth-round pick in 2027 and a second-rounder in 2028, it immediately invited the comparison to the Chiefs’ earlier blockbuster with the Rams. Kansas City’s deal sent Trent McDuffie to Los Angeles for three picks in the 2026 draft - first, fifth and sixth - plus a third-round pick in 2027. And even with the obvious differences between the two corners, the gap in return is hard to ignore.
Porter is a good player. He’s 26, he’s been durable through three seasons, missing only three games, and he’s played 94 percent of the snaps in each of the last two years.
He hasn’t allowed a touchdown since 2023, and in two of his three seasons he held opposing quarterbacks under 50 percent completions. His career completion rate allowed sits at 54%, and the Pro Bowl eventually feels inevitable.
But McDuffie was operating on another level. He was a two-time All-Pro in four seasons in Kansas City, and that matters when you’re comparing what each team got back. The trade packages were never going to match perfectly because the players weren’t equal assets.
Pittsburgh’s situation also worked against it. Porter wasn’t playing this year, and while the Steelers listed him with a back issue, it was obvious he wasn’t going to return without a new deal.
A rejected $27 million annual offer didn’t get the job done, and that left Pittsburgh with less leverage than it would have liked. By the time the Steelers moved him, they were dealing from a weak position.
That’s part of what makes the return look so thin. The Steelers got only two picks, and their best piece won’t even come due until 2028.
By comparison, Veach brought back four selections, including an immediate first-rounder that helped Kansas City start reworking an aging defense on the fly. The Chiefs used that Rams pick at No. 29 on Clemson defensive lineman Peter Woods, with Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson and LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier eventually coming into the mix through further maneuvering.
There’s also the simple matter of quantity. More picks mean more swings, and the Chiefs came away with far more chances to reload than Pittsburgh did.
Even the extra Kansas City third-rounder in 2027 stacks up well against what the Steelers received. That’s why this isn’t really a fair apples-to-apples comparison in terms of player value, but it still reflects well on Veach.
The larger problem for Pittsburgh is what the move says about its own direction. With Aaron Rodgers at quarterback and one of the league’s oldest rosters, the Steelers are supposed to be in win-now mode.
Trading away what looked like their lone young defensive pillar doesn’t fit that picture. It’s even more jarring when Porter’s father played for the franchise, and the Steelers still let the situation reach this point.
No general manager is spotless, and Veach has had his misses too. But the logic behind his move was clear.
He sold at the right time, got a strong haul, and gave the Chiefs flexibility to keep building. Omar Khan, meanwhile, moved a prized player at the wrong time and came away with a return that leaves plenty of people wondering what Pittsburgh was thinking.
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