If the early reports are correct, Derek Stingley Jr. is going to be a big-time player in the NFL.

NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport is at Houston Texans camp Wednesday and said that the Texans feel like they may have gotten the best defensive player in the 2022 NFL Draft:

“I would expect Stingley to probably be a starter and play a lot,” Rapoport said. “What the [Texans] took was the highest-ceiling playing they could find and that was Derek Stingley. … What they are betting on here is that he is going to be the freshman-year Stingley and not the one who was hampered by injuries.”

Stingley was the third overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and the first defensive back taken. As a freshman, Stingley was an integral part of the LSU team that won the CFP national championship in 2019. He had 38 tackles and 6 interceptions with 21 passes defended. Stingley was the rare true freshman to be named a consensus All-American and first-team All-SEC performer.

He struggled with injuries in 2020 and 2021, but that did not diminish his draft stock.

LSU fans, are you excited to see if Stingley can uphold the recent tradition of Tigers defensive backs turning into NFL All-Pros?

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