The Houston Texans safety room is due for a big season in 2024

The Houston Texans Safety room may be one of the most sound positions on their defense. They already have their starters, Jalen Pitre and Jimmie Ward, but they also went and drafted Calen Bullock to take over for Ward down the road. So just how good can this safety room be in 2024? In Pitre’s last full season in 2022, he finished the year with five interceptions and eight passes defended. Pair that with Bullock’s ball-hawking ability, and the duo of Pitre/Bullock may push Ward out of a starting job sooner rather than later. 

Depth chart (7)

Jalen Pitre
Jimmie Ward
Calen Bullock
Lonnie Johnson Jr
Eric Murray
MJ Stewart
Brandon Hill

If they keep five safeties, Lonnie Johnson and Eric Murray are good depth pieces that can help the defense in multiple ways. Johnson with his position versatility, and Murray can play a good amount of reps on special teams. There’s no questioning their depth at Safety, my only question leading up to training camp is who starts opposite of Pitre? Do they trust Bullock enough right away to give him the starting job? Or does the veteran presence of Ward prove to be enough to keep Bullock away for this season? No matter how you look at it, they set themselves up for success at the position right now, and into the future. 

As I say this, it’s important to mention they had some injury issues at the safety position last year. Jimmie Ward missed seven games last season, and Jalen Pitre missed two. Finding a starting caliber safety like Bullock to come in and play well was a must, either in free agency or the draft. And now, they have a plug-and-play guy like Bullock to come in and spot-start when needed in Year 1. 

The safety group had a down year last season, and that can be for a multitude of reasons. However, this is a new year. They have everything they need to succeed under Demeco Ryans and Matt Burke. This is the year the Texans need players like Pitre to step up and be big factors in this defense. There’s no doubt in my mind that they can take that next step, and if they want a chance at a Super Bowl appearance this year, they need to call on some of their young players to take that next step.