The Texans have spent the last couple of seasons turning over their roster and that’s opened the door to playing time for a lot of young players.
It looks like there will be a number of rookies playing prominent roles on the team in 2022 and second-round pick Jalen Pitre is high on that list. The safety started against the 49ers on Thursday night and made one of the biggest defensive plays of the game when he stuffed running back Trey Sermon for a loss on a fourth down.
After the game, head coach Lovie Smith said at a press conference that Pitre has been making plays throughout the summer and that he’s looking forward to seeing him in regular season action.
“What we notice, is when you’re making a whole lot of big flash plays,” Smith said. “Jalen has been consistent throughout. He’s a smart player. He’s been like a sponge as far as learning. But he’s going to be around the ball. That’s what we’ve seen since OTAs. I’m excited about going forward with him and him lining up for us when Indy comes into town.”
First-round cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. is also ticketed for the starting lineup and the Texans will be hoping that the duo becomes a cornerstone for their defense in the future.