Jimmie Ward has spent a little over a month in the Houston Texans’ offseason workouts, but he has seen enough from Derek Stingley.
The former San Francisco 49ers safety has finally had a chance to be on the practice field with the former 2022 No. 3 overall cornerback from LSU out at Houston Methodist Training Center.
“I seen how he moves around,” Ward told reporters May 4. “He’s like 6-1, 6-0, but he moves like he’s 5-9, 5-8. Dude’s a stud. He’s going to be a stud.”
What Ward notices the most about Stingley is the 21-year-old’s confidence level, which may come from playing his college ball in the toughest division in the Power 5, the SEC West.
“When you’re playing in the SEC, the level doesn’t just jump up too much because a lot of guys that he locked down at LSU are in the league,” said Ward. “Didn’t they just break a record of SEC guys drafted this year? Okay, this guy Stingley, covered majority of the top wide receivers coming out or tight ends. Like, he did this already. That’s the reason his confidence is so high.”
Stingley played in just nine games for Houston last season, tallying 43 combined tackles, five pass breakups, 1.0 sack, and an interception.
The way Ward sees it, the added experience in the pros is only going to create more opportunities for Stingley to blossom.
Said Ward: “It’s going to keep clicking for him. The game is going to slow down and slow down and sooner or later I’m not looking at his side. I’m going to go steal some on the other side. You aren’t going to catch the ball on Stingley.”
