Derek Stingley Jr. has become the kind of cornerback offenses have to account for every snap, and the numbers back it up. Houston’s star defender has piled up back-to-back All-Pro honors, and Sports Illustrated’s Karl Rasmussen ranked him as the No. 3 cornerback in the NFL.
That placement fits the way Stingley has played for the Texans. He’s at his best in man coverage, where he can stick with receivers on deep routes and shorter breaks alike.
He also brings real ball skills to the table. Since 2023, only one cornerback in the league - Kerby Joseph with 15 - has more interceptions than Stingley’s 14.
The production has gone well beyond the reputation that followed him into the league as the No. 3 pick in the 2022 draft. Since ’23, Stingley leads the NFL with 46 passes defensed, and opposing quarterbacks have completed fewer than 50% of their throws when targeting him over that stretch.
His impact is a big reason Houston’s defense sat atop the NFL in the 2025 season. On a unit that also features Will Anderson Jr., the Texans have a strong argument for having one of the best young cornerback-edge rusher combinations in football. Some would say Anderson and the pass rush make life easier for Stingley, but the cornerback has clearly done plenty of heavy lifting on his own.
The headline stat is the interceptions, but Stingley’s 46 pass breakups over the last three seasons matter just as much. He keeps drives from developing, erases windows and forces quarterbacks to think twice before testing him.
The Texans have a difference-maker on the back end, and Stingley’s ceiling still looks high. He’ll be aiming for another dominant season in 2026.
In Other News...
Texans Fans May Not Like Where The DeAndre Hopkins Talk Is Going
DeAndre Hopkins is still looking for his next NFL stop after finishing the 2025 season with the Ravens, and the former Texans All-Pro has made clear he wants to keep playing in 2026 as more of a situational piece for a contender than as a full-time centerpiece. For Houston fans, the name still carries plenty of weight, but the current conversation around Hopkins is less about a nostalgic reunion and more about whether there is a realistic football fit left at all.
Houston would be an easy storybook landing spot, yet the roster picture makes that look like a tough sell. Nico Collins is already entrenched, and the Texans have a cluster of younger receivers in the mix, which could leave Hopkins buried deep on the depth chart if he came home. With no team signed to him yet and other contenders such as the Bills and Rams looking like cleaner matches, the Hopkins watch is starting to feel more like a question of where he can still matter than whether the Texans should bring him back. [Read more 🡒]
Texans Offense Is Suddenly Drawing The Kind Of Buzz Fans Wanted
The Texans spent the offseason making clear they were not satisfied with the way the offense looked around C.J. Stroud, and the early buzz is starting to reflect that urgency. With Nick Caley now having a full year of experience working with Stroud, Houston is banking on better continuity, cleaner communication and a more comfortable quarterback in a system that should no longer feel new.
National attention is beginning to follow the same logic. Ted Nguyen has put Houston among his top breakout offenses for the coming season, pointing to the upgraded support around Stroud and the chance for the unit to look more complete than it did a year ago. The bigger question now is whether those changes can translate from offseason optimism into the kind of weekly production that gets the Texans back on track. [Read more 🡒]