Noah Brown may have played 50 offensive snaps for the Dallas Cowboys in their 27-23 win over the Houston Texans in Week 14 last season, but he was left with a lasting impression from a rookie.
Safety Jalen Pitre played all 71 defensive snaps for Houston, and the second-rounder from Baylor had a team-high 12 combined tackles and two pass breakups.
“Man, that’s one of the first things I remember about that game, is 5 flying around,” Brown told reporters June 13 after mandatory minicamp.
Brown signed with Houston in free agency. Instead of seeing Pitre once every four years — or sooner pending 17th game and preseason scheduling — Brown has had a chance to see Pitre up close throughout the Texans’ offseason workouts.
“Coming out here and being able to practice with him for about two, three weeks, you see how he does it on game day because he does it on the practice field,” said Brown. “He’s a creature of habit and he has great habits — great player.”
Pitre led the Texans with 147 combined tackles, five tackles for loss, a quarterback hit, 1.0 sack, five interceptions, eight pass breakups, and a fumble recovery through all 17 starts. Houston is hopeful Pitre’s great habits will lead to a stronger sophomore campaign from their best defensive back.