Texans Select Baylor S Jalen Pitre With No. 5 Pick in Round 2 of NFL Draft

The Houston Texans added another dynamic player to the roster with their first pick of the second round

On Thursday night, the Houston Texans made waves in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, taking two immediate contributors on both sides of the ball.

On Friday night in Round 2 that continued, with the Texans selecting Baylor Safety Jalen Pitre with the 37th overall pick. 

Pitre now joins LSU cornerback Derek Stingley and Texas A&M offensive lineman Kenyon Green in what is becoming an increasingly impressive 2022 rookie class in Houston. 

“First of all, Jalen is a great human being and the core values you have on your team, Jalen will be an ambassador of that," Baylor head coach Dave Aranda said of Pitre. "Jalen will be a connector on your team. Jalen will be an empathetic leader. I think he is just drawn to that and he will rise to be that person. On the field, he’s a gym rat, man. He’s the guy in high school that is there way early, went to bed at the appropriate hour, studied on his own, ate the right stuff, hydrated the right way and got there way early and stretched, did all the right stuff. There’s a gap between what you do and how you prepare and how you recover from what you do. Jalen owns that gap."

In his time at Baylor, Pitre was one of the top defensive backs in the country, finishing his senior season with 75 total tackles, 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and two interceptions, and seven pass deflections. 

You can view the full scouting report on Pitre from NFL Draft Bible below: 

Pitre is an elite athlete who has played nickel, boundary safety, outside linebacker and projects best in a “star” role. He is violent versus the run with a non-stop motor and evades blocks well but struggles to consistently shed them. Pitre adds value versus the pass via his talents as a blitzer and flashes of sticky situational man+zone coverage. Maximizing his open-field tackling, blitzing, and athleticism while minimizing his responsibilities in coverage can lead to a good starter in the right situation but if played outside his strengths, Pitre can be picked on and a liability.