As the Houston Texans were in the midst of yet another team period of training camp yesterday evening, Pro Bowl safety Calen Bullock snatched yet another interception in coverage over the middle of the field. to the collective chagrins of quarterback C.J. Stroud and the first-team offense.
The turnover added to Bullock's list of highlights during camp, and was the continuation of what appears to be another step forward in the overall development of the third-year ballhawk out of USC.
With the addition of Super Bowl Champion Reed Blankenship as a trustworthy veteran safety opposite of Bullock in coverage, it seemingly is helping to unlock an even more lethal version of Bullock as an eraser in Houston's vaunted secondary.
Calen Bullock could be en route to his best season yet for the Houston Texans with the aid of Reed Blankenship
During Bullock's short two-year stint in Houston, he's had to play opposite names like C.J. Gardner Johnson, Jimmie Ward, M.J. Stewart and Eric Murray. While they were/are all professionals in their own right, Bullock's growth and development was arguably a bit stunted by the fact that he didn't have the most stable of circumstances in the safety room to really grow from.
Besides Gardner-Johnson, Blankenship will be the most accomplished teammate that he's ever played with at the position. However, unlike Gardner-Johnson, Blankenship has already ingratiated himself with the team in such a way to where you can safely project him to fully finish out the entirety of his contract as a quality culture fit, positive locker room presence and a player who has the situational awareness and professionalism to execute his role according to the needs of the defense at any given moment.
With that level of support behind him, Bullock seemingly now has an even greater range when it comes to his playmaking radius across the various thirds of the football field. In camp alone, Bullock has disrupted throws over the middle of the field, come away with multiple interceptions and has been an overall menace to whatever signal caller has dared to test his ballhawking capabilities in camp.
Bullock just looks more efficient. He knows where to be, he has the trust of his teammates and he's definitely looking to get his unit off of the field as quickly as possible at any given moment. In Bullock's own words to the media after another eventful training camp practice this week, he confidently confirmed,
“I’m trying to make a play on the ball every single time, it’s a gamble. I’m out there gambling, that’s what good DBs do. I’m trying to get a pick, I ain’t trying to get a PBU. I’m trying to get off the field. You get a PBU, we gotta stay on the field. I’m trying to get us to get off the field & get some water.”
With a combination of that mindset, an overall refining of his game in year three, along with having the veteran presence of Blankenship to back him up as a safety valve in the deep portion of the field, Bullock is primed to solidify a case as one of the five best at the position in 2026. Full disclosure: I truly believe that Bullock has the potential to turn in an All-Pro year this campaign (and this was before I laid my own eyes on his aerial rampage in training camp).
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