The last few draft classes for the Houston Texans have been pretty successful for the most part. They have been able to find some great players for some great value in the draft, and some of those players are quietly turning into stars.
Of course, there is Derek Stingley, who you could make a case for as the top cornerback in the league, but most have him as the second or third best behind Denver Broncos CB and Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain. Stingley is a lockdown guy at the position and has shut down some really big-time players in games.
There are so many others, too, but another one that continues to stand out is Calen Bullock, the now second-year safety who had a huge rookie season. The Texans got him in the third round of last year's draft, and he was able to snag five interceptions as a rookie, leading all rookies in INTs.
Creating havoc and turnovers is kind of what he does, so much so that he has a new nickname. Texans media and fans are calling him Calen "Ballhawk" Bullock, and man, it's a nickname that makes too much sense. In his second season, we could see an even elevated version of that, although having more than five interceptions will be hard to top.
But, at Texans training camp on Tuesday, he had one, forcing quarterback C.J. Stroud into a mistake.
Calen Bullock gets an interception on C.J. Stroud at training camp
The Houston Texans have been going hard at training camp, making plays on both sides of the ball, and putting in work so that they can try to get over that hump of the second round of the postseason. And, there aren't many out there in the secondary who are making more plays than Bullock is.
On Tuesday, he had himself another interception, as he picked off C.J. Stroud on a throw to a receiver who looked to be running either an in-route or a simple drag. Either way, Bullock met the receiver, who looks to be rookie Jayden Higgins, at the point of attack on the ball, and picked it off cleanly.
This is something that the Texans are only going to hope they see more of from him, because, while he was great last year, he can still be even better. Bullock does have to work on some of his man coverage skills, so that when he is thrown into those situations, whether he is in the nickel or playing safety, he can make a play.
Training camp is here, and the Texans are making plays.
