(SportsRadio 610) - Derek Stingley is a man of few words, but he's ready to prove himself in the NFL after the Texans selected him No. 3 overall in the draft.
Stingley going third overall is the highest the Texans have drafted a cornerback, as noted by Hall of Famer John McClain. The previous highest was Dunta Robinson, who was taken 10th overall in 2004.
A couple of weeks before the draft, Texans head coach Lovie Smith acknowledged the cornerback play was not good enough last year. He said they could not ply the kind of football they wanted to play without improvement at that position.
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Since then, they signed veteran free agent corner Steven Nelson to a two-year, $10 million deal, and then drafted Stingley on Thursday night.
"It was a good vibe over there," Stingley said Thursday when asked of the time he spent with the Texans pre-draft. "You could tell that things were going to be different from the past. Everything was trending upward over there."
Stingley started all 25 games he appeared in at LSU, where he finished with six interceptions, 21 passes defensed, 73 tackles and seven tackles for loss. He was a consensus All-American as a true freshman in 2019, when he led the SEC with six interceptions and helped them to a national championship.
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Brandon Scott is the senior digital content coordinator for SportsRadio610.com. Follow him on Twitter @brandonkscott .