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Texans Safety Tandem - Jimmie & Jalen - Best in NFL?

Do the Houston Texans have the NFL's best pair of safeties?
Tim Kelly|
Texans Safety Tandem - Jimmie & Jalen - Best in NFL?
Texans Safety Tandem - Jimmie & Jalen - Best in NFL?

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Houston Texans

Even after adding both quarterback C.J. Stroud and pass rusher Will Anderson Jr. with top-five picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans still have one of the least talented rosters in the NFL. However, the safety position appears to be the rare position at which the Texans have NFL respect.

Bucky Brooks of NFL Media recently ranked the top tandems at every position in the NFL, and Houston's safety tandem of Jalen Pitre and Jimmie Ward checked in at No. 2. 

The only tandem that he ranked higher was that of the Seattle Seahawks, who actually have a trio of excellent safeties in Quandre Diggs, Julian Love and Jamal Adams, the final of whom is returning after a torn quadriceps muscle sustained in Week 1 forced him to miss nearly all of the 2022 season. 

A second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Pitre had an excellent rookie season for a bad Texans team. The Baylor product had 147 combined tackles, five interceptions and five tackles for a loss during his rookie season. 

Meanwhile, the Texans signed Ward to a two-year, $13 million contract in free agency this offseason, a pact that guarantees him $8.5 million. The 31-year-old spent the first nine seasons of his career with the San Francisco 49ers, the final two of which DeMeco Ryans was his defensive coordinator. Ryans, of course, is now preparing for his first season as the coach in Houston, and Ward's addition will no doubt help him to establish a positive culture in an organization that desperately needs it. 

If cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. -- last year's No. 3 overall pick -- takes a major step forward in his second season, the Texans have a chance to have a strong secondary in 2023. … as they continue to work to build the rest of the roster.

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Tim Kelly
TIM KELLY

Tim Kelly is a contributor to SI's NFL team sites. Additionally, Kelly covers the Philadelphia Phillies as the Editorial Director for PhilliesNation.com. Previously, Kelly has been a producer at SportsRadio 94 WIP and a content producer for Audacy Sports, with written content syndicated to WIP, WFAN, WEEI and some of the biggest sports radio stations in the country. Kelly also has contributed to Bleacher Report, Just Baseball, Sports Talk Philly and Section 215, FanSided's Philadelphia affiliate. Kelly is a 2018 graduate of Bloomsburg University, with a major in Mass Communications and a minor in political science.