The Houston Texans have one of the more underrated players in the league on their squad. With the additions they made this offseason, too, I think we see him take a leap into a new level, where he can potentially be labeled a start player, or even a superstar.
The Texans can have a really special defense in 2024. That's largely due to the additions of the rookies and the free agents like Danielle Hunter and others, but also the development of guys like Will Anderson and Derek Stingley, who can be standout players in 2024 on an elite defense.
Specifically, a guy who needs more recognition is Stingley, because he is going into his third year. That is usually when guys make a big leap in their careers. For Stingley, I think he is already a top-10 cornerback in the league, but he can certainly take a huge step in 2024.
That's also largely because he is considered an X-Factor. Every single team in the league has an X-Factor or a player that you don't really know what you're going to get. An X-Factor is a player that is a significant variable that has a significant outcome on what happens during the season. That's somewhat what Stingley is going into 2024, and Pro Football Focus thinks so as well.
X-factor for 2024: CB Derek Stingley Jr.
After having a rough rookie campaign that saw him record a 49.1 PFF grade, ranking 111th out of 118 qualifying corners, Stingley rebounded in 2023 with an 82.1 grade (ninth out of 127 corners) thanks in large part to a sharp increase in coverage grade at 85.3. Stingley will be called upon to continue his breakout performance in 2024, as the rest of the cornerback room for the Texans isn’t very deep. Playing opposite Stingley is fellow former third overall pick Jeff Okudah, who has become a journeyman just four years after the Lions made him the first corner selected in the 2020 draft. Also featured at cornerback is Myles Bryant, who has frustrated Patriots fans due to his inconsistent play over the last few years, and C.J. Henderson, whose career path is similar to Okudah’s. Second-round rookie Kamari Lassiter also has an opportunity to break into this lineup. Stingley’s going to have to shoulder much of the workload in this group and will likely be tasked with taking on the opposing offenses’ top receivers every week.
Last season Stingley was great, but now he is going to basically play the role as the vertan guy in the cornerback room, where they just drafted Lassiter and have some other young guys who haven't really shown anything yet in the league. They no longer have the veteran in Steven Nelson, who just retired, so Stingley will have to have a big year.
