Tag: Derek Stingley Jr.

Jaguars WR Zay Jones still limited in Thursday practice

Not much changed on the Jaguars’ injury front between Wednesday and Thursday.

The Jacksonville Jaguars released a Thursday injury report that perfectly mirrored their Wednesday report.

Defensive lineman Folorunso Fatukasi was out of action again, while receiver Zay Jones, outside linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson, and lineman Cole Van Lanen were all limited.

While Fatukasi was spotted on an exercise bike at practice, the back-to-back missed days don’t bode well for his chances at playing Sunday against the Houston Texans. Despite being limited again, Jones appears to be in position to make his return to the lineup after missing Week 4.

The Texans were missing five players from practice, but had third overall pick Derek Stingley Jr. back for a full practice after he was limited Wednesday.

The Jaguars are expected to activate 335-pound defensive lineman Corey Peters from the practice squad to the active roster with Fatukasi dealing with injury. Peters, 34, is a 12th year NFL veteran who played five seasons with the Atlanta Falcons and six with the Arizona Cardinals.

Chargers’ causes for concern vs. Texans in Week 4

A look at some causes for concern as the Los Angeles Chargers gear up to face the Houston Texans.

It’s been a rough week for the Chargers, who not only lost to the Jaguars at home for the first time in franchise history but did so in embarrassing fashion while losing two of their best players for an extended period.

They now travel to Houston to face the Texans, who beat them in the trap game of the decade last season after Los Angeles had a COVID outbreak the week of the game.

While that’s not likely to be a concern this time, there are a few reasons to be worried come Sunday.

The replacements

Without Rashawn Slater and Joey Bosa and potentially without Corey Linsley, JC Jackson, and Keenan Allen for another week, the Chargers are lacking a ton of star power on both sides of the ball coming into this one. Slater will be replaced by rookie Jamaree Salyer, who hasn’t played left tackle since the National Championship game for Georgia. Chris Rumph will fill in for Bosa, which he did in Jacksonville to mixed results. Salyer and Rumph getting starts is not ideal, and leaning on them to have a big impact could spell disaster.

Rookie defensive backs playing well

Derek Stingley Jr. and Jalen Pitre have gotten off to hot starts this season for Houston. Stingley has had his ups and downs, especially in zone, but you can see him learning and making adjustments practically play by play in every game. Pitre had two interceptions and a sack last week against Chicago in his big introduction to the NFL audience and has received plenty of praise from veterans in Houston for his play. With as much as Mike Williams has struggled to consistently find space to be thrown the football, the rookies could again have a big impact against LA. Expect Stingley to stick to Williams while Pitre roams around and covers Gerald Everett, who’s been a primary target in Joe Lombardi’s short passing game offense.

Constantly fresh rushers

Houston has four players who have at least 30 pass-rush snaps this season, per PFF. Of those, the lowest pass rush win rate is Jonathan Greenard at 12.3. Ogbonnia Okoronkwo is at 15.6, while Rasheem Green and Jerry Hughes are over 18 percent on the season. That puts all four of them in the top 70 in the league amongst players with at least 30 snaps, which means that Houston can keep everyone at their best. That’s especially important for the 34-year-old Hughes, whose reduced pass rush workload has resulted in a very efficient season thus far. Against a rookie making his first career start, the constant rotation may prevent Salyer from getting into a rhythm, potentially causing problems for Justin Herbert in the pocket.

Running game improvements

Houston hasn’t been great running the ball in 2022, but Dameon Pierce has shown signs of becoming a true No. 1 running back. He’s still splitting carries with Rex Burkhead, who beat up the Chargers to the tune of 149 yards last season. LA’s run defense has improved since then, of course, but Joey Bosa is a big part of that unit’s proficiency. With Rumph playing instead, we saw Jacksonville target the second-year player in the run game due to his lack of play strength. If Houston keys in on Rumph the same way, this could be Pierce’s national coming out party.

5 Key Texans players to watch against the Bears

Keep an eye on these Houston Texans when they visit the Bears this weekend.

The Chicago Bears return home to Soldier Field for their Week 3 matchup against the Houston Texans. The Texans are the first AFC opponent the Bears will face this year and they’re still looking for their first win, entering the week 0-1-1.

Many of the storylines will focus on current Texans and former Bears head coach Lovie Smith coming back home to Chicago, but Houston has a few players that will worth watching as well. Here are five players we’re keeping an eye on heading into this weekend’s matchup.

PHOTOS: Recapping Derek Stingley Jr.’s preseason with the Houston Texans

Stingley may not quite be back to 100%, but that didn’t keep him from making an impact for the Texans as he started the final two preseason games.

The Texans are facing one of the tougher rebuilding projects in the NFL, but they hope they’ve landed a franchise player for the secondary.

Houston took LSU’s [autotag]Derek Stingley Jr.[/autotag] with the third pick in the 2022 NFL draft despite the fact that he was coming off a Lisfranc injury that limited him to just three games in 2021. Even though he only played one full season during his college career, he showed enough to be the first defensive back off the board.

Stingley has been a bit limited during the preseason as he continues to recover. He missed the first game but started the final two, recording his best production in the final outing against the San Francisco 49ers. He finished with four tackles (two solo) and a pass breakup.

As Stingley continues to get healthier, his impact on the field for Houston should increase. With Stingley and the Texans ready to kick off the regular season, here were some of the best shots from Stingley’s first preseason action.

LSU among the top college football programs in terms of NFL snaps in 2021

A number of former Tigers are primed for big years in the league.

LSU has put a lot of talent in the NFL over the years. Even when it has struggled as a program, there’s been no shortage of Tigers alums playing on Sundays.

There aren’t many other programs that can say the same. According to @CFBNerds on Twitter, only Alabama had more players take professional snaps last season.

LSU was ranked slightly above Ohio State and well above programs like Georgia and Clemson. That number should grow this year after the team had 10 players selected in the 2022 NFL draft. Only the Bulldogs (15, a modern record) had more.

LSU’s group of professionals is currently headlined by [autotag]Joe Burrow[/autotag] and [autotag]Ja’Marr Chase[/autotag] after they led the Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance. [autotag]Tyrann Mathieu[/autotag] and [autotag]Jarvis Landry[/autotag] made some noise early this offseason, as well, as they returned to Louisiana to play for the Saints.

 

 

Players like [autotag]Justin Jefferson[/autotag] and [autotag]Devin White[/autotag] will look to keep making an impact with their respective teams, and lots of eyes will be on [autotag]Derek Stingley Jr.[/autotag] as he makes his debut with the Texans after being selected third overall.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

It’s always interesting to see how former Tigers fare on Sundays, and it should be another good year for LSU representation in the NFL.

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Jarrick Bernard-Converse listed as one of SEC’s most impactful transfers by On3

Bernard-Converse has to fill some big shoes at cornerback, but the talented Oklahoma State transfer has the resume to back it up.

LSU hit the transfer portal hard over the winter. [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] and his staff had a lot of work to do on a roster that had been left in poor condition.

One of the areas of concern was cornerback, where LSU was losing [autotag]Derek Stingley Jr.[/autotag], [autotag]Eli Ricks[/autotag] and [autotag]Cordale Flott[/autotag]. To help fill that gap, LSU went out and got a few guys at corner, including Oklahoma State transfer [autotag]Jarrick Bernard-Converse[/autotag].

On3 recently released a list breaking down the 10 most impactful transfers in the SEC. Bernard-Converse came in at the No. 10 spot. Of the four corners LSU brought in, On3 called Bernard-Converse the best of the bunch.

“He was a first-team All-Big 12 selection in 2021 at Oklahoma State for one of the nation’s best defenses; he should be both a physical and emotional leader for LSU.”

Bernard-Converse had 10 pass breakups in 2021. That total led all Big 12 corners. According to PFF, he only missed two tackles last year, making him one of the best-tackling corners in the conference. He also only allowed 50% of the balls thrown his way to be caught.

Bernard-Converse, a Louisiana native, was not a highly-touted recruit coming out of high school in 2018. He was ranked by the 247Sports Composite Rankings as just the 88th best safety in the class.

But he was able to find the field early at Oklahoma State, making an impact as a freshman and going on to find a home at cornerback. LSU will need Bernard-Converse to live up to the hype in 2022 or the secondary will struggle.

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Pair of LSU prospects taken in this recent 2023 NFL mock draft

Kayshon Boutte and BJ Ojulari are first-round prospects according to Touchdown Wire’s Luke Easterling.

After having 10 players selected in the 2022 NFL draft, the Tigers have a lot of outgoing talent to replace this offseason. But with that being said, this team still has a lot of star power.

LSU had one player drafted in the first round this spring, No. 3 overall pick [autotag]Derek Stingley Jr.[/autotag] That total could increase next year, however, as two Tigers players are receiving considerable preseason draft hype.

The latest first-round mock from Touchdown Wire’s Luke Easterling has both receiver [autotag]Kayshon Boutte[/autotag] and edge rusher [autotag]BJ Ojulari[/autotag] coming off the board in the first 32 picks. He’s highest on Boutte, who he has going to the Chicago Bears with the No. 8 pick.

Justin Fields has a solid No. 2 receiver in Darnell Mooney, but he still needs a true No. 1 target with size and physicality, as well as athleticism. Boutte checks all of those boxes, and would be just what Fields needs to reach his full potential as Chicago’s franchise quarterback.

Pairing Boutte with Fields is certainly intriguing and could be just what the young quarterback needs to take a step forward in Chicago. Meanwhile, Easterling has Ojulari going off the board a bit later in the round to the Miami Dolphins with the No. 16 pick, where he could shore up the defensive line quite a bit.

Jaelan Phillips has a promising future, but the Dolphins need another young, explosive edge rusher to pair him with. Ojulari racked up seven sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss as a sophomore in 2021, and is primed for even more this year.

There is some projection going on with Ojulari, who was good last season but is expected to have a breakout campaign in 2022. If he can live up to those expectations, he could be one of the best edge rushers in college football and find himself as a Day 1 pick.

One former Tiger is also projected as a first-round pick: Cornerback Eli Ricks, who transferred to Alabama and is expected to be one of the nation’s top defensive backs. He’s projected to go at No. 13 to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Despite seeing a lot of turnover this offseason, this is a talented roster for Brian Kelly’s first season, and he could see a couple of his players go on to be very high picks in the draft.

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Derek Stingley Jr. getting punt return reps for Texans

The No. 3 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft is getting some work in the return game during his first training camp

The Houston Texans spent the No. 3 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft on LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. with the expectation that he’ll be come a shutdown artist on defense.

While he develops in that area of his game, the rookie is also finding other ways to make an immediate impact, working as a punt returner during training camp, per Mark Lane of Texans Wire:

“Yeah, Stingley can do a lot of things,” said Smith. “Punt returner is one of them. Now I’m not saying that he for sure is going to for sure be our punt returner, but the more things you can do. You probably noticed Derek getting more reps today. We’ll continue to bring him along at the pace that we had set up before camp started. He gets a little better each day, too.”

Stingley was slowed by injury last season, but was still impressive enough on tape for the Texans to make him the first cornerback off the board in this year’s draft.

If he’s able to stay healthy, Stingley could easily develop into one of the best corners in the league. Until then, he’s athletic enough with the ball in his hands to make a big splash in the return game, as well.

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Star LSU receiver Kayshon Boutte to wear coveted No. 7 jersey in 2022

Boutte will carry on one of LSU’s proudest traditions in 2022.

Junior Tigers receiver Kayshon Boutte will carry on one of the program’s proudest traditions as it was announced on Thursday that he will wear the No. 7 jersey on offense for LSU this fall.

The No. 7 jersey is a relatively recent, and it’s given every year to a dynamic playmaker who also demonstrates leadership qualities. Recent players to don the jersey include [autotag]Tyrann Mathieu[/autotag], [autotag]Derek Stingley Jr.[/autotag], [autotag]D.J. Chark Jr[/autotag]. and [autotag]Leonard Fournette[/autotag].

“I am excited to get back on the field with my brothers and work all season,” Boutte said in LSU’s press release. “To do it in the No. 7, and follow in the footsteps of some of the greatest players in LSU history, is an honor.”

Here’s a first look at Boutte in his new threads.

There aren’t many players in the SEC that enter the 2022 season with higher expectations than Boutte. An injury ended what was shaping up to be a stellar sophomore season after six games, but he still managed to lead the team in receiving touchdowns on the year with nine. It’s truly scary to imagine how productive he would have been if he had played in all 13 games.

LSU certainly has some holes to fill in Year 1 under coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag], but it also returns some potential superstars, and Boutte headlines that group. Many see him as a first-round pick in 2023, and he should be a leader on and off the field for the Tigers this fall.

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Tigers make the cut for 2024 5-star cornerback

Desmond Ricks is the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2024 cycle.

[autotag]Desmond Ricks[/autotag] is a 6-foot-1, 170-pound cornerback from Bradenton, Florida, where he plays for the highly esteemed IMG Academy.

He released his top 10 on Saturday, and LSU was among the teams that made the cut. A five-star prospect, Ricks is ranked as the No. 2 player in the 2024 recruiting class by every recruiting site, and he is the No. 1 player on the defensive side of the ball.

Ricks was previously crystal balled to Florida State by two different people, but the Seminoles did not even make his top 10, so that will certainly impact future projections. Alabama is a 43.5% favorite to land him per On3 recruiting.

LSU is widely referred to as DBU (Defensive Back University) because of how many draft picks have come from the LSU secondary. The pedigree of talented defensive backs is long and it grows every year. It includes [autotag]Tyrann Mathieu[/autotag], [autotag]Patrick Peterson[/autotag], [autotag]Jamal Adams[/autotag], [autotag]Morris Claiborne[/autotag], and [autotag]Derek Stingley Jr.[/autotag]

Who wouldn’t want to add their name to a list like that?

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