‘Sometimes you forget he’s a rookie’ Texans third-round pick already thriving on defense

Houston Texans safety Calen Bullock already looks like a steal from the 2024 NFL Draft. Bullock was drafted in the third round (78th overall) and quickly established himself as a mainstay on Houston's defense.

The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder has a nose for the football. His range and athleticism have helped intercept four passes this season, the most of any rookie and tied for the third-most in the NFL.

"Calen has done an outstanding job and (playing deep safety) is what he excels at," Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said on Texans radio . "You talk about a guy playing in the deep part of the field, what sticks out about him is as a young player, sometimes you forget he's a rookie."

Bullock is firmly in a safety rotation with Eric Murray and Jimmie Ward. He played the fewest snaps of the three (62%) in Week 10 against the Detroit Lions, where he had an interception.

"(Bullock) just doesn't panic when the ball is in the air," Ryans said. "He plays with really good depth, and it allows him to actually play the football. So he's not in a panic position where he's trying to catch up to a receiver. He's on top, in good position, now he's just able to play the football and go back to playing the receiver. And he does a great job of going up and catching the ball at its highest point, which you try to teach all DBs. He's made play after play each game, he finds a way to come up with the football."

Bullock was the fourth safety drafted, none of the three before him have an interception. It's not entirely fair to base a safety's success on interceptions, Javon Bullard and Tyler Nubin are better tacklers than Bullock. But that's what Ward, Murray and Jalen Pitre specialize in, giving Bullock more opportunity to defend deep passes. Texans general manager Nick Caserio acknowledged that Bullock needed to improve his tackling and strength after drafting him in April.

"Calen is a player that showed the propensity to take the ball away at USC and that's kinda carried over," Nick Caserio said on Texans radio .

Bullock has allowed 10 completions on the 20 times he's been targeted this season. He's allowed 99 yards and two touchdowns on those plays. Obviously not perfect, but he's fit into Houston's defensive backfield well. Over the past four weeks, the Texans have allowed one pass play to go for more than 40 yards.

That was a 69-yard touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts on a play Josh Downs got free after Pitre ran into another wide receiver. Bullock was back deep on the play but went to the other side of the field not knowing Pitre had collided into a Colts player. Bullock is one of the biggest reasons that teams struggle completing deep passes against Houston.

The 21-year-old joins the several other young stars on the Texans' defense. Will Anderson Jr. (23), Derek Stingley (23), Pitre (25), Lassiter (21) and Bullock will serve as the heart of Houston's defense for years to come.