HOUSTON — Lovie Smith made it clear that the Texans need to improve at cornerback in order to “play the kind of football we want to play.”
The Texans did just that Thursday night when they picked LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. as the number 3 pick.
Stingley, who is 6ft 1 and weighs 190 pounds, received All-America honors in 2019 and 2020 but suffered a season-ending foot injury in September and only played in three games in 2021. He didn’t appear at any NFL Scouting Combine practices in February, but attended LSU’s Pro Day Workout earlier this month.
Stingley joins a Texas cornerback group that includes Steven Nelson, Desmond King II and Lonnie Johnson Jr.
Nelson, who is entering his eighth NFL season, signed with the team earlier this month. Johnson, a 2019 second-round pick, returned to the position from safety in 2021. King made the move outside for the first time in his NFL career last season.
Stingley is the fourth cornerback drafted with the #3 pick in the joint draft era (since 1967) and ties the highest pick used at the position during that span.
The Texans are coming off a consecutive four-win season. They went 4-13 in 2021 under coach David Culley, who was fired after one season and replaced by Smith, who had been Culley’s defensive coordinator.
The Texans have historically used mostly defensive players in the first two rounds. Only nine of Houston’s 29 first-round or second-round picks since 2004 have been on the offensive side of the ball. However, the last time the Texans had the No. 3, they selected future All-Pro wide receiver Andre Johnson.