Elevating from Honorable Mention last season to top-10 heading into 2026, Houston Texans safety Calen Bullock makes his official debut as a top-tier backend defender in the NFL.
Wrapping up his offseason rollout of positional top-10 rankings according to multiple executives, coaches and scouts from around the league, ESPN Senior NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler published his list of safeties this morning. In it, Bullock finally got a league-wide stamp of approval by his positioning on the list, with the previous nine names being:
- Kyle Hamilton (Baltimore Ravens)
- Derwin James (Los Angeles Chargers)
- Xavier McKinney (Green Bay Packers)
- Brian Branch (Detroit Lions)
- Jessie Bates III (Atlanta Falcons)
- Nick Emmanwori (Seattle Seahawks)
- Antoine Winfield (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
- Budda Baker (Arizona Cardinals)
- Kerby Joseph (Detroit Lions)
It's a great development for the former USC Trojan, as he's been on the rise at the position since his more-than-solid rookie season back in 2024.
Calen Bullock is on the rise at the safety position
"Bullock is one of the brightest young ballhawks in the league," began Fowler, as he went into more detail on the reputation that Bullock has gained in the NFL thus far. He continued,
"He is a free safety in every sense, as he was lined up 8 or more yards downfield 86.8% of the time last season. And his nine interceptions over the first two years of his career got the attention of voters, several of whom put him in the top five."
That news is scary for offenses around the NFL, as Bullock is only in year three of his career, and is already showing flashes of top-five potential. Even though Fowler rightly pointed out Bullock's tackling as having been somewhat problematic, league sources are completely fine with the trade off in favor of his elite ball tracking ability.
"He's probably an adequate-to-average tackler, but his range is elite," an NFL coordinator said. "So I value that superpower. I'd rather you take the ball away and just be an adequate tackler than the other way around."
With this in mind, Bullock is no longer a "secret" to offenses. If a quarterback makes a mistake in the intermediate portion of the field, Bullock will be there. If a wide receiver tips a pass into the air without securing it, Bullock will be there. If a quarterback dares test Houston's defense with a 40-yard deep ball into double coverage, Bullock will be there.
Quarterbacks beware, Bullock is only getting started.
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