Jalen Pitre has been one of the Houston Texans’ most impactful rookies in their failed 2022 campaign, and the league is starting to take notice. He notched his third interception of the year in Week 13 against the Cleveland Browns and managed to secure 16 combined tackles in the effort.
This outsized production from the rookie safety is no surprise to the team’s safeties coach Mike Danna, though, and he told reporters on Thursday just how impressed he is with what Pitre has been able to do this season. When asked about the safety’s development, Danna was complimentary of what he had seen and emphasized the work ethic and tenacity that got Pitre to this point.
“I’ll just say this, can’t say enough about how much he, as a rookie, works at his game, studies the game, takes care of his body,” Danna explained. “He takes the coaching. The credit is to him. We try to coach everybody the same. He works at it. It’s important to him. It’s just good to see he was able to reap the benefits of some of that work.”
Houston’s defense is starting to turn a corner late in the season after their impressive performance against the Browns, and Pitre has played a large part in their recent success. It’ll take consistent effort to keep up his level of play to help the Texans secure a second victory before the year ends, but under the watchful eyes of Danna and the rest of Lovie Smith’s coaching staff, Pitre should continue to grow into a starring role heading into the team’s 2023 rebuild.
For now, both Pitre and the defense at large are focused on their challenging matchup against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 14 and are hopeful to replicate the no-fly zone they enforced against the Browns to give Houston a legitimate chance at success despite being totally outmatched against their intrastate rival.
