How Jalen Pitre seeks to improve in his third season

There was a time last year when all you could talk about was Jalen Pitre and the potential he had.

The third-year safety was impressive as a rookie in 2022.

Pitre, a second-round pick out of Baylor who is also from Stafford, led the Texans with 147 tackles and a team-high five interceptions that year. He developed a reputation as a playmaker and someone teams had to prepare for when facing him.

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The combination of Pitre and cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. was supposed to be lethal for years to come.

But while Stingley flourished under new coach DeMeco Ryans’ system last year, leading the team with six interceptions, Pitre’s year could be described as more of a roller coaster, filled with many ups and downs.

Pitre was third on the team with 84 tackles, but did not have a single interception all year. And sometimes he was fooled with double moves, which often led to big plays for opponents.

He allowed three touchdowns in coverage and opposing quarterbacks had a 135.4 passer rating when targeting him, according to Pro Football Reference.

He wasn’t the only problem.

The team’s top four safeties (Pitre, Jimmie Ward, Eric Murray and MJ Stewart) who began the year on the active roster missed a total of 28 games due to injuries. Pitre missed two after suffering a collapsed lung in Week 1, resulting in a hospital visit.

And after the season, Ryans was clear that he wanted to upgrade the safety position. The Texans addressed that by selecting USC safety Calen Bullock in the third round of April’s draft.

“That’s part of life,” Pitre said. “Not everything is always going to be sunshine. I felt like I did a lot of great things my freshman year, I made some plays, but last year there were more ups and downs.”

Because of that, Pitre is streamlining his process in hopes of finding what made him successful in Year 1. He wants to make plays again, which he hopes will lead to more wins for the Texans and maybe even a Super Bowl.

“Calm,” Pitre said, when asked what year three will be like for the safety, who was named team captain before his sophomore season. “I think that’s the next step for me. Just be calm and understand what the coaches want from me.”

Admittedly, adjusting to a new defense after having success as a rookie was difficult for Pitre, as well as other players. When he was drafted in 2022, he fit perfectly into Lovie Smith’s Cover-2 scheme.

In year 2 with Ryans, he had to make adjustments on the fly. But with the return of the same coaching staff, there is continuity. And things get easier the more reps he performs.

“Again, part of it, last year we struggled, obviously, and things are flying,” Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke said. “But putting in those hours that Jalen did, he’s showing up now.

“Their communication levels, their comfort with some of those things. But I think the consistency comes from there. Awareness, knowledge of the system and being comfortable in everything we ask you to do.”

That’s been the goal of the coaching staff this offseason: to simplify things for the players, so they don’t have to think as much and let their athleticism take over. That was when Pitre was at his best.

“The primary philosophy of the defense is just to keep it simple, do what we do and be really good at it, and then let those guys be playmakers,” Burke said. “And he’s obviously shown the ability to do that to make plays, so we’re hoping he gets there.”

While it’s hard to get much out of organized team activities during the offseason, Pitre has been lined up in the slot on a few plays in 7-on-7 drills. He’s made some plays and been beaten on some. But that’s part of it.

He hopes that when he is defeated he can stay calm and come back.

“The most important thing is to make sure I am present to the people who believe in me,” Pitre said. “I think that starts with my teammates, my coaches, my parents and making sure I’m delivering for them. So that’s really what I’m focused on. Keep the main thing main and stick to my process.”