(SportsRadio 610) - Derek Stingley Jr. became the highest-drafted cornerback in Texans history when they selected him No. 3 overall Thursday night.
Stingley was with family members when Texans general manager Nick Caserio, head coach Lovie Smith and chairman Cal McNair called him with the news.
The 6'0", 190-pound LSU product immediately addresses a desperate need at the Texans' cornerback position. As Smith pointed out before the draft, the Texans cannot play the type of football they want to play without getting better there.
That's why they've since signed veteran free agent cornerback Steven Nelson, and now drafted Stingley, a two-time All-American at LSU.
"Derek [Stingley] has played at a high level ever since he walked in the building at LSU," Caserio told reporters after making the first-round ended. "Runs well. He plays with good technique. Plays the ball well. He plays under control. Plays with good anticipation. I think one of the benefits of watching him and following that program going back, I mean, they've had a lot of good players come through there. Jamar [Chase] was there. Terrence Marshall was there. Justin [Jefferson] was there. We had the opportunity to see him work against those types of players, which I would say is indicative of the types of players that we are going to see -- our whole team and the defense is going to see on a regular basis. Combine that, I would say his football acumen is good.
"Really cares about football. He is a technician. He is really devoted to understanding the techniques of playing the position. So, when you look at everything in totality, we just felt like that made the most sense for our team, and I would say just organizationally there was a consensus, so I think that's important as well. You want to take a number of opinions. Take those into consideration. Be thoughtful about it. Not that everybody has to agree on it, but if there's sort of a feeling mutually, then I think that says a lot for the player and just for everybody else involved. I would say that was probably a big part of why we did what we it."
Brandon Scott is the senior digital content coordinator for SportsRadio610.com. Follow him on Twitter @brandonkscott .