Houston Texans star cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. is coming off his best season yet. The Texans wouldn’t be in the playoffs without the former No. 3 overall pick’s elite footwork, cover skills and physicality going up against the top receivers.
So it’s no surprise that Stingley was named a first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press on Friday. However, this is a surprise with how few first-place votes he actually received.
The AP polls a national panel of 50 media members who elect an All-Pro team each season. Of those 50 media members, Stingley only garnered 24 first-place votes according to the AP‘s published voting data.
Forty-nine first-place votes went to Denver Broncos star Pat Surtain. Meanwhile, Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie finished third in first-place votes with 15.
Stingley earned his first AP All-Pro First Team honor after starting in all 17 games this season. He posted career-high numbers in nearly every category, including total tackles (54), pass deflections (18) and tackles for loss (four), while also posting his second consecutive season with five interceptions.
Stingley’s five interceptions were tied for the team-high with rookie safety Calen Bullock and ranked as the fourth-most in the NFL this season, while his 18 passes defensed stood as the second-most in the League.
According to NextGenStats, Stingley allowed the lowest passer rating (56.9) and lowest completion percentage (46.7%) among cornerbacks who played at least 400 coverage snaps this season.
The Texans play host to the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. With a win, Houston would improve to 6-2 all-time in the wild-card round.
