HOUSTON – Kamari Lassiter participated in eight coverage snaps and six runs plays during his NFL debut.
The Texans’ rookie cornerback wasn’t involved in any heavy lifting against the New York Giants, but he certainly didn’t look out of place or like the moment was too big for him.
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It was the usual status quo for the defending AFC South champions’ top draft pick as he recorded one tackle.
The Texans have installed Lassiter as a starter as he has earned the job through consistent performances he has stacked ever since being drafted in the second round out of Georgia where he excelled for coach Kirby Smart.
Lassiter has been a true plug-and-play rookie so far.
“For Kamari, you can tell he is built for this,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “When it comes to the mental toughness piece, that plays a lot into being a good football player. At this level, you have to be mentally tough. You have to have that next-play mentality. At Georgia, Kirby has done a great job and you can tell of raising them the right way.
“Kirby has done a great job with all of his guys and having those guys NFL ready to go and that’s one thing you see from Georgia year after year since he’s been there. Those guys are plug-and-play type players, and it’s a credit to him and his program with how they run things there. You get a Georgia guy and you know you’re getting an NFL player.”
Indeed.
Since being drafted, Lassiter has worked with the first-team defense.
“I can’t even remember a catch caught on him in a long time, so he is doing what he is doing,” Pro Bowl alternate cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. said. “It is the reason he is here and locked on that side of the field.”
Whether it’s Stefon Diggs, Tank Dell or Nico Collins, Lassiter has been up to the task against all of the Texans’ talented trio of wide receivers. The speed of the game and its complexities aren’t too big for him.
Selected 42nd overall and signed to a four-year, $9.014 million contract that includes a $3.376 million signing bonus, Lassiter has high expectations for himself.
“I would say I’m very critical of myself,” Lassiter said. “I would say I’m itching to watch the game. As soon as the game is over, I’m itching to watch it probably right after. I just want to see what the call was, how well did I execute the call, what could I do better on that play, what was my pre-snap process? Kind of just going back, jogging my memory throughout the game and just kind of seeing what I was thinking, remembering what I was seeing throughout the game and just seeing what I can do better.
“I think I played okay. It was first game, so I have a long way to go, but I feel like I played okay. There’s a lot that I can improve on. Technically wise, I feel like I could’ve played a little faster. I feel like I could’ve shown a little more excitement out there, but I feel like I did okay. I don’t think I played too good, but I don’t think I played bad as well.”
Lassiter yielded the lowest amount of passing yards last season in college football, according to Pro Football Focus analytics. He did a great job shadowing and limiting the production of first-round wide receivers Malik Nabers (LSU, Giants) and Xavier Legette (South Carolina, Carolina Panthers).
“I just want to come in and show everybody that I’m a savage,” Lassiter told KPRC 2. “I feel like I’m a physical corner. I feel like I’m a guy that brings a lot of energy to the game and I feel like I can help a team out and do whatever it takes to win.”
Nothing has appeared too big for him. Lassiter doesn’t act like a rookie or play like one.
“I feel like rookie is just a word, honestly,” Lassiter said. “I was brought here to come and do a job, so I feel like if I’m not doing my job to my standard or the standard that the organization asks, then it doesn’t really matter. So, I mean, it’s a balance. I know I’m going to make mistakes. I’m not going out there trying to walk on eggshells. I’m going to play fast. I’m going to play physical. I’m going to play my brand of football.
“But, at the same time, I want it to be right. I want it to be decent and in order. And I want it to match the standard of our organization. So, I understand that it’s my first year. It’s going to be a lot of things that I don’t know or that I would see and that I would have to come across and make better. But in terms of me kind of making that balance, it’s just going out there, playing fast, playing confident and then just learning from mistakes.”
The competitive mettle Lassiter is displaying is convincing teammates of his readiness and skills. Nothing has overwhelmed him.
“He could be ready, he might even be ready right now,” Diggs said. “Technique is sound, seeking knowledge and wants to compete at a high level and he ain’t running from it. I’m talking my junk to him a little bit, just to kind of get him going, and he’s right there. He’s standing 10 toes down, so something that you like to see in young players is that confidence.
All of the Texans’ top draft pick’s energy is done with a specific goal in mind: establishing himself as a reliable player who can be counted on to immediately contribute as part of the team concepts and strategies.
“I’ve just really trying to get better at everything, really try to work my technique, work on my progressions and stuff like that, just kind of getting comfortable with the basics,” Lassiter said. “Really just trying to be a whole different kind of savage.”
The roots of Lassiter’s fast transition to the NFL all began in Athens, Ga. where he was one of the top corners in the ultra-competitive Southeastern Conference on a national championship squad.
“I would say I credit a lot of that being at Georgia to me being able to kind of translate that in the NFL,” Lassiter said. “I would say coming up at Georgia, it was hard having a coach like Coach Smart, a guy who a lot of people would think is crazy. Just kind of going at you every day and then just being in that environment it just kind of makes you want to kind of forget if you made a bad play, kind of forget it and being able to try and make up for it the next play.”
The feeling of his first NFL game was unforgettable for Lassiter.
It was a moment he and his family will always cherish.
“Man, it was like a dream, honestly,” Lassiter said. “This is something I dreamed of since I was probably four or five years old. And it’s kind of just all came full circle. I called my mom before the game saying our prayer and I could just hear her in tears on the phone. And it just kind of all got to me just warming up and I was like, ‘Man, it’s everything I thought it would be.’ Just being out there, being with the guys that I’m playing with, they just make it a lot easier. So, I have no complaints.”
Held out of the Texans’ Hall of Fame game against the Chicago Bears as the starters didn’t participate and sidelined against the Pittsburgh Steelers with an ankle injury, Lassiter returned to practice last week and had no setbacks.
The Texans like how seriously Lassiter goes about his daily assignments. It’s a recipe for sustained success.
“Kamari’s probably come in, again, with the mindset in terms of the compete, the attack, this sort of aggressive mentality that we’re looking for in those guys,” Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke said. “I mean, he’s all that. He’s all business-like and wants to work.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.