{"id":116069,"date":"2024-05-02T07:50:51","date_gmt":"2024-05-02T07:50:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/?p=116069"},"modified":"2024-05-02T07:51:07","modified_gmt":"2024-05-02T07:51:07","slug":"espn-names-db-calen-bullock-texans-top-nfl-draft-pick-nguyensa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nbahang.aweu.info\/espn-names-db-calen-bullock-texans-top-nfl-draft-pick-nguyensa\/","title":{"rendered":"ESPN names DB Calen Bullock Texans’ top NFL draft pick"},"content":{"rendered":"

Calen Bullock\u00a0is ready to take batted balls and ill-timed throws in the opposite direction for six points as a member of the\u00a0Houston Texans\u2019 defense in 2024. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Texans have high hopes for the\u00a0USC defensive back\u00a0after trading up with the Philadelphia Eagles to select him with\u00a0the 78th overall pick. While there\u2019s questions about his immediate impact, Houston is playing the long game to get the best version of Bullock in the coming years. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

ESPN\u00a0believes in Bullock, too, naming him a top-30 selection in the 2024 NFL draft at No. 29. Bullock was the only Texans player selected among the top 100 players drafted over the three-day event.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bullock was my top-ranked safety. He\u2019s not a big striker or hitter, but his ball skills (nine interceptions since 2021) and range are beautiful from a deep safety alignment. And his addition will allow\u00a0Jimmie Ward\u00a0to thrive in the slot for Houston. \u2013\u00a0ESPN\u2019s Matt Miller<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Bullock is his best in high-man coverage. The 6-foot-3 defender led the Pac-12 with five interceptions in 2022, which seemed to be the one constant of a lackluster Trojan\u2019s defense.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Houston\u2019s safety play produced mixed results in 2023. Ward, who spent time under DeMeco Ryans in San Francisco, missed multiple games due to a lower-body injury and ended the season on the injured reserve.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Third-year safety Jalen Pitre regressed in coverage under Ryans\u2019 man-heavy formation. As a rookie, the second-round pick notched five interceptions. Last season, he finished with zero and\u00a0missed 14 tackles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bullock, who drew NFL comparisons to Baltimore Ravens\u2019 standout Marcus Williams, likely won\u2019t improve much in run support, but Ward and Pitre have excelled in that department. The two could eventually compete for starting strong safety reps\u00a0<\/span>with<\/span>\u00a0the other shifting inside to the nickel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ward and Pitre saw previous reps in the slot. In his final season with the 49ers, Ward shifted back to the nickel from safety for the first time since 2017 following a breakout campaign from All-Pro Talanoa Hufanga. Pitre won Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year at Baylor while serving as the STAR in Dave Aranda\u2019s 4-2-5 defense.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bullock also could line up in the nickel in spurts\u00a0<\/span>given<\/span>\u00a0his experience, though general manager Nick Caserio said he\u2019s likely to remain on the back end rather than near the line of scrimmage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou are talking about a guy that is 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, ran [a] 4.5 that moves well for his size, plays the ball, is instinctive, is an eraser in the deep part of the field,\u201d Caserio said Friday following the selection. \u201c[He] has to improve as a tackler, which goes back to improving his playing strength. Hopefully, our program will be beneficial to him in that respect. He\u2019s still an ascending player.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Calen Bullock\u00a0is ready to take batted balls and ill-timed throws in the opposite direction for six points as a member of the\u00a0Houston Texans\u2019 defense in 2024. The… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":116071,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-116069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nbahang.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nbahang.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nbahang.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nbahang.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nbahang.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116069"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nbahang.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116069\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116072,"href":"https:\/\/nbahang.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116069\/revisions\/116072"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nbahang.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nbahang.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nbahang.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nbahang.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}