‘One of the best, elite ball skills, one of his superpowers,’ Texans corner Derek Stingley Jr. dominant at camp practice

CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio – Derek Stingley Jr. wasn’t going to concede an inch against imposing Texans wide receiver Nico Collins on Tuesday morning, elevating to high-point a sideline pass thrown by Pro Bowl quarterback C.J. Stroud.

Stingley bodied Collins for position and matched his leap to come down with the football against the 6-foot-4, 215-pound wide receiver. After intercepting Stroud, Stingley tossed the football hard back at the offense as if to say: ‘Take that!’

Stingley, a Pro Bowl alternate corner last season and one of the more physically gifted defensive backs in the league, later intercepted a Stroud pass intended for wide receiver Tank Dell and returned it for a touchdown.

It was a dominant practice from Stingley, one of the top players on the defending AFC South champions’ defense.

Skill. Toughness. Athleticism. Instincts. Feisty streak.

Stingley is as serious as they come when it comes to football and he constantly displays intensity and body control.

“Sting, I never like to say the best, but he’s one of the best ball corners in the League,” Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke said. “He’s got elite ball skills. Obviously, he’s big and powerful. He’s always tight in coverage, but can go snatch it. I think that’s probably one of his superpowers. So, it doesn’t surprise me when he goes and makes those types of plays.”

Earlier in camp, Stingley practically ran the route for Dell, mirroring his movements on a deep sideline pass. Once Stingley leapt into the air to pick off Stroud, there was a wrestling match with him and Dell as they fought for control of the football on the ground after the whistle blew. Ultimately, a referee signaled that it was an official interception for the former LSU star.

With textbook footwork, Stingley locks down wide receivers.

“He knows what’s going on to the point where he’s almost becoming like an expert on how the position is played in this scheme,” Texans defensive passing coordinator Cory Undlin said. “Love what he’s done so far. Just consistency, that’s all. We know he can make the big play.”

In his second NFL season last year, Stingley was dominant after returning from a hamstring injury. He intercepted a career-high five passes.

All of Stingley’s coverage skills were on display late last season as the Texans’ talented cornerback shut down passing lanes to lead the NFL with three interceptions in December and nine passes defensed while allowing an astoundingly low 1.7 passer rating when targeted by opposing quarterbacks. He was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Month for the first time.

“I actually think Sting is, and I won’t even shake when I say that, I think he’s one of the best DBs in the league,” said wide receiver Stefon Diggs, a four-time Pro Bowl selection. “Especially from talent level. He’s fast. He can run. He can break and he’s competed at a high level throughout his career.”

Stingley is as talented as anyone on the Texans’ roster, but he’s the opposite of cocky. It wasn’t a surprise that Stingley didn’t brag about how he limited Cleveland Browns star wide receiver Amari Cooper to one reception for minus-six yards on three targets when he was the nearest defender in a playoff victory, including two tight windows, according to Next Gen Stats. Texans coach DeMeco Ryans broke from his usual strategy, assigning Stingley to shadow Cooper on 35 of 42 routes weeks after the imposing wide receiver set a single-game franchise record with 11 catches for 265 yards and two touchdowns against the AFC South champions in a Christmas Eve rout.

Stingley allowed just one reception for -6 yards on 3 targets as the nearest defender, including two tight windows.

Since that successful postseason, Stingley has only continued to grow as a corner

“Derek has done a great job during camp,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “He’s been very consistent. One of our most consistent players in camp, so I’m encouraged with where Derek is.”

Stingley is enjoying honing his skills against one of the most talented wide receiver corps in the NFL, including Diggs, Dell and Nico Collins.

“It is fun,” Stingley said earlier in camp. “Every day you get better, every day you will probably see something you that you have never seen before. So that is good because once we get into the game, there is probably going to be something schemed up like that so it is good that we are seeing it in practice now.”

The growth from Stingley was obvious. Especially after recovering from a hamstring strain in the third week of the regular season that sidelined him for six games.

“Those secondary coaches let me work with him, welcomed me in, and Sting obviously was open to it,” said retired Texans Pro Bowl corner Johnathan Joseph, who mentored Stingley during training camp last year. “Being that I was a first-round pick, knowing what comes with that with the pressure of being in the public eye, being under scrutiny, being hurt, he wanted to come out and prove himself and I thought you started to see that.

“He’s right in there with guys like Sauce Gardner and the top guys you can put his name with them. You can see the ball skills and understand why he was one of the top-ranked kids coming out of high school and LSU.”

One day after the offense got the best of the defense, it was a day for the defensive guys to excel

“We were rolling pretty good,” Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said Tuesday regarding Monday’s practice session. “Really for the last couple of days we have had some good days of stacking things together. Today was tough with the elements. The balls got pretty slick as practice went on, which I think was evident and you could see but it was good training for us.

“Houston is just different as far as the heat goes, but we don’t deal with the wet conditions as often as I feel like you do in some other places. So, I feel like it is good training for us, we just had to adjust to that. Receivers had to keep our feet, linemen had to anchor how we still wanted to approach the run game. We need it. I think that showed today that the defense made the adjustment today and we didn’t, and we will be going forward.”

NOTES: Starting right tackle Tytus Howard left practice after being examined in the blue medical tent on the sideline.

Howard walked off under his own power, which he emphasized on social media.

Howard got checked out and then a golf cart transported him to the locker room for further evaluation.

Nick Broeker lined up at right tackle in place of Howard.

Wide receiver Stefon Diggs got knocked into by safety Jimmie Ward at practice and was down briefly and went to the sideline. Diggs returned to practice and finished up without any further issue.

Pro Bowl defensive end Danielle Hunter returned to practice after being off Monday and was extremely difficult to block.

Multiple players didn’t practice, including cornerbacks Kamari Lassiter, Jeff Okudah and Desmond King, defensive end Will Anderson Jr., tight end Brevin Jordan, offensive tackle Charlie Heck (plantar fasciitis), running back Joe Mixon (quadriceps strain), defensive tackle Tim Settle Jr., tight end Teagan Quitoriano (strained calf), wide receiver Noah Brown, offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil (offseason knee scope), defensive end Denico Autry (suspended six games for performance-enhancing drug violation) and linebacker Christian Harris (soft-tissue injury). ...

Rookie offensive tackle Blake Fisher, a second-round draft pick from Notre Dame, has been anchoring the left side with Laremy Tunsil sidelined since the start of training camp.

Fisher had some good moments against the Chicago Bears in the Hall of Fame game.

“He is out there competing, just like the rest of the crew,” Slowik said. “All l we can do is get better every day. Blake has done that. In pass pro, he has particularly made some technique adjustments that have helped him, for sure. The rushers he is going against have helped him. I know he has a lot of conversations with them on what they are thinking, what they are doing.

“He has been doing a good job. He has bought in and right now I would say he is a little further ahead in the run game than the pass game. He just has to put his head down and keep growing.” ...

With Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon out, Dameon Pierce has been running with the first-team offense.

Pierce looks more comfortable in Slowik’s zone scheme offense this year.

Cam Akers caught a touchdown pass against the Bears.

“It is a fun group to coach,” Slowik said. “Joe kind of leads the way, even though he hasn’t been practicing, his energy is always there. He is always around. Even when we are on the field, he is running around the huddle getting people hyped up. So, he is the driving force for sure. The rest of the crew kind of feeds off that.

“Dameon is feeding off of that, he is putting his head down and working. He has made huge strides from where he was at last year and what he has grown in and what he has shown he is trying to do. Cam [Akers] is obviously the newest to the crew but he has been running a lot of similar stuff in L.A. for a long time and then in Minnesota it was pretty similar as well. You can see the talent and the vision and the cutting ability. Which is impressive coming off of the two injuries he had. He has been fun.” ...

The Texans like their safety group. Contrary to a report on social media, the Texans have not offered a contract to former Denver Broncos safety Justin Simmons, according to league sources.

Defensive coordinator Matt Burke emphasized how pleased he is with Jimmie Ward, Jalen, Pitre, rookie Calen Bullock, Eric Murray and M.J. Stewart.

Bullock, who forced a fumble against the Bears and had five tackles, intercepted a Davis Mills pass meant to go to John Metchie III.

“It’s been great,” Burke said. “I actually think Jimmie has had a really good time up here just starting to show up and sort of impact plays more. Pitre’s been really good. Calen had a pretty good game on Thursday night and has really shown up, like range and the ball, playing more physical.

“I don’t know what rumors you’re talking about, but I feel really good about our depth and all those guys have been kind of growing in what we’re asking them to do. Even a guy like Jimmie is starting to show up. I feel like he’s kind of a forgotten man sometimes. Jimmie’s been making some plays these last few practices. Feel good about where that whole group is working.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com