Jack of All Trades: Derek Stingley Jr., Returning Punts in Training Camp

The Texans drafted Derek Stingley Jr. in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Immediately after, he was named starting cornerback. Now it seems the Texans have much more planned for Stingley Jr.’s professional career, including a possible position as punt returner.

According to eyewitness reports and the Texans’ own head coach, the team is already working on developing #24’s catching skills. After Day 2 of camp, head coach Lovie Smith was quoted, “Stingley can do a lot of things. Punt returner is one of them.”

Texans Punt Returners… or lack thereof

If he’s named punt returner, Stingley Jr. would potentially be the Texans’ third cornerback pulling double duty on special teams. Desmond King II and Tremon Smith are already lined up ahead of RB Dameon Pierce. With this strategy, we can only hope the team is taking into account the risk to their secondary defense.

Although Desmond King II and Tremon Smith have been valuable kick returners in the past, that production hasn’t materialized with punt returns. Last season, King II returned 6 punts for 17 total yards and Smith returned 0 punts. The Texans clearly do need some help in this area.

When Will We See Stingley Jr. Return Punts?

Derek Stingley Jr. stood out in this year’s draft class due to his unusual combination of size and speed. Few people expect a man 6’1 and weighing nearly 200 lbs to run a 40 yard dash in 4.3 seconds. Pro Football Focus named him one of the top 3 players on the Texans before he’s even played a game in the NFL.

Although Stingley certainly possesses incredible physical features, it seems his catching skills need some work. He bobbled a punt in drills on Tuesday. After Day 5, special teams coordinator Frank Ross weighed in with reporters. Stingley will still need to be able to catch more consistently before becoming the primary punt returner. “Those types of things that you see the great ones have done, start to train those mechanics, those habits for a young man. We’ll see how high his ceiling can go.”

Although speed and strength are clearly important for punt returners, that’s not all it takes. Every season there are painful missed catches that lead to at best negative yards and at worst touchdowns for the other team. Hopefully the Texans still won’t feel rushed to put Stingley out there right after the regular season starts.