Houston Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. came into his own last season, finally staying healthy and earning first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors.
The fourth-year defensive back is the prototype corner with fluid hips, speed to make up ground, strength to fight bigger players, and smarts to understand a wideout's route tree. He also has sticky hands, which have led to 11 interceptions over the course of three seasons.
That point was underscored when DeMeco Ryans was asked about corners he’s seen with hands as good as Stingley’s. The Texans coach noted arguably the best ever to play the position.
“Ooh, that's a great question. Derek definitely has some of the best hands that I've seen,” Ryans said. “From the corner perspective, you can throw in Coach Prime (Deion Sanders), some great hands as well. But, Derek, he's a unique player. He's very talented, very gifted. For me, what I'm most encouraged about is, from when I first got here, to see where Stingley has grown to and what he's become, it's very impressive to watch, to see the growth of a player, the development of him. For him to be at the top of his craft, top of the game as a cornerback position, like he's done an outstanding job.”
Being compared to any aspect of Sanders’ game is a huge compliment. Ryans didn't suggest Stingley should take offensive reps as Prime once did.
Stingley allowed the fewest yards per target (4.9) and the lowest passer rating (56.9) as the nearest defender in coverage among CBs in 2024, per Next Gen Stats (minimum 25 targets). He leads the NFL with 31 passes defensed since 2023. Stingley is the only player with 10+ INTs and 25+ passes defensed since 2023.
Stingley’s improvement comes from staying healthy after injuries cost him 14 games in his first two seasons, and from competing with Nico Collins in practice daily.
“With Nico and Stingley, what I see is two guys that compete every day,” Ryans said of two of his best players. “It's easy, when you're some of the best players, to take downs off and go a little easy. These guys always, constantly they're going at it. When I talk about iron sharpening iron, it’s not just a cliché, but it's truly these guys want to be better and they train each other that way. They work hard when they're going against each other. ... They go hard and that makes each guy better. That's why those guys have ascended in their careers because they've been able to work across from each other. Both of these guys are the top players at their position across the league. When you can work against someone of that caliber, it's only going to raise your level of game.”