Jalen Pitre has been a stud for the Houston Texans through five games.
The second-round pick from Baylor has collected 39 combined tackles, 1.0 sack, two interceptions, two pass breakups, a fumble recovery, three tackles for loss, and a quarterback hit.
As impressive as Pitre’s first five games have been, the reality is he could be better.
“I think one of the things [safeties coach] Joe’s (Danna) talked to Jalen about,” general manager Nick Caserio told reporters Oct. 11. “Jalen is a good football player, but he’s missed a lot of tackles. If tackling is something you can certainly improve, we’ve talked to Jalen about that.”
Pitre has a team-high nine missed tackles for Houston. The next closest defenders are linebacker Christian Kirksey and cornerback Steven Nelson, each of whom have six.
Even though Pitre has an area where he can improve, the results have shown that the rookie is trending upward in his development.
Said Caserio: “Over the last couple of weeks, he’s certainly gotten better. Finding areas that you can improve as a football player, it’s not just about all the splash. It’s about being consistent and improving areas that maybe you’re not performing as well. He’s got the right attitude. He’s got as good as a routine as any young players from the time he walks in the building in the morning.”
According to Caserio, Pitre is demonstrating the successful habits of a good player.
“Before practice, he’s in the weight room, he’s stretching, he’s going through his preparation,” said Caserio. “Being a good player is about having the routine, having preparation, being committed to that week-after-week, day-after-day. That’s what’s going to make you a good player and then having a requisite physical skill behind it. All those factors go into it.”
If Pitre is able to clean up his tackling along with still providing the Texans with splash plays, it will make Houston’s defense formidable for the final 12 games.
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