 Pitre with Baylor in 2021 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 5 –Houston Texans | |||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Safety | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born: | (1999-06-03)June 3, 1999 (age 25) Stafford, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 200 lb (91 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | Stafford | ||||||||||||||
| College: | Baylor (2017–2021) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2022: 2nd round, 37th pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2024 | |||||||||||||||
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Jalen Pitre (/ˈpiːtri/PEE-tree; born June 3, 1999) is an American professionalfootballsafety for theHouston Texans of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theBaylor Bears and in 2021, he was named theBig 12 Defensive Player of the Year and a consensusAll-American.
Pitre attended Stafford High School inStafford, Texas. He committed toBaylor University to playcollege football.[1][2]
As a true freshman at Baylor in 2017, Pitre started eight of 12 games, recording 37 tackles and one sack.[3] As a sophomore he started one of 13 games and had 11 tackles. In 2019, he played in four games and took a redshirt. He finished the season with 12 tackles. As a redshirt junior in 2020, Pitre started all nine games, recording 60 tackles, twointerceptions and two sacks.[4] He returned as a starter in 2021 and was named a finalist for theJim Thorpe Award.[5] He was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and earnedConsensus All-American honors.[6][7]
Kevin Hanson ofSports Illustrated ranked Pitre as the fourth best safety prospect in the draft.[8] NFL media analystDaniel Jeremiah ranked him as the fourth best safety (41st overall) in the draft.[9]Bleacher Report and Zach Patraw ofSports Illustrated had Pitre ranked fifth among all safety prospects.[10][11] NFL analystLance Zierlein projected him to be selected in the third round. The majority of NFL draft analysts projected Pitre to be a second or third round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.[10][12]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 198 lb (90 kg) | 30+5⁄8 in (0.78 m) | 9 in (0.23 m) | 4.46 s | 1.53 s | 2.57 s | 4.15 s | 6.74 s | 35.0 in (0.89 m) | 9 ft 11 in (3.02 m) | 16 reps | |
| All values fromNFL Combine/Pro Day[13][14] | ||||||||||||
TheHouston Texans selected Pitre in the second round (37th overall) of the2022 NFL Draft. He was the fourth safety drafted in 2022.[15]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Texans select Jalen Pitre No. 37 | |
| Jalen Pitre's Post-draft press conference |
On May 11, 2022, the Houston Texans signed Pitre to a four–year, $8.95 millionrookiecontract that includes $6.23 million guaranteed upon signing and an initialsigning bonus of $3.69 million.[16]
He enteredtraining camp projected to become the starting free safety following the departure ofJustin Reid. He competed for a starting role againstEric Murray,Jonathan Owens, andM. J. Stewart.[17] Head coachLovie Smith named him the starting free safety to begin the season and paired him with strong safety Jonathan Owens.[18]
On September 11, 2022, Pitre made his professional regular season debut and earned his first career start in the Houston Texans' home-opener against theIndianapolis Colts and made ten combined tackles (five solo) during a 20–20 tie in overtime. On September 25, 2022, Pitre made eight combined tackles (five solo), two pass deflections, a fumble recovery, a sack, and a career-high two interceptions as the Texans lost 23–20 at theChicago Bears. He had his first career sack on quarterbackJustin Fields for an eight–yard loss and made his first career interception on a pass by Fields to tight endCole Kmet.[19] In Week 13, he collected a career-high 16 combined tackles (nine solo), made a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass byDeshaun Watson to wide receiverAmari Cooper during a 14–27 loss to theCleveland Browns. In Week 17, Pitre racked up a season-high 11 solo tackles (13 combined), broke up a pass, and set a career-high with his fifth interception of the season on a pass attempt byC. J. Beathard to wide receiverMarvin Jones during a 3–31 loss against theJacksonville Jaguars. He started in all 17 games as a rookie and recorded a total of 147 combined tackles (99 solo), one sack, five interceptions, and eight passes defended.[20] He was named to thePFWAAll-Rookie Team.[21] He received an overall grade of 54.7 fromPro Football Focus as a rookie in 2022.[22][23]
On January 8, 2023, the Texans fired head coachLovie Smith after they finished the2022 NFL season with a 3–13–1 record.[24] On January 31, 2023, the Texans hiredSan Francisco 49ers' defensive coordinatorDeMeco Ryans as their new head coach.[25] Pitre entered training camp slated as thede facto starting strong safety under defensive coordinatorMatt Burke. Head coach DeMeco Ryans named Pitre and Eric Murray as the starting safeties to begin the season.
He was inactive for two games (Weeks 2–3) after injuring his chest.[26] On October 8, 2023, Pitre collected a season-high 13 combined tackles (nine solo) and made a pass deflection during a 19–23 loss at theAtlanta Falcons. In Week 15, he made four combined tackles (one solo) and a season-high two pass deflections during a 19–16 overtime victory at theTennessee Titans. He finished the 2023 NFL season with 84 combined tackles (58 solo), five passes defended, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery in 15 games and 15 starts.[27]Pro Football Focus had Pitre finish the season with an overall grade of 61.8.[23]
The Houston Texans finished the2023 NFL season first in theAFC South with a 10–7 record, clinching a playoff berth. On January 13, 2024, Pitre started in his first career playoff appearance and recorded three combined tackles (two solo) during a 45–14 win against theCleveland Browns in the AFC Wild-Card Game. The following week, he had six combined tackles (four solo) and a pass deflection as the Texans were defeated 10–34 at theBaltimore Ravens in the Divisional Round.
He retained his role as the starting strong safety, alongside Eric Murray, to begin the 2024 NFL season. In Week 2, Pitre racked up a season-high ten combined tackles (eight solo) during a 19–13 win against theChicago Bears. On October 27, 2024, Pitre made four combined tackles (three solo), a pass deflection, and had his first and only interception of the season on a pass byAnthony Richardson to wide receiverJosh Downs during a 23–20 victory against theIndianapolis Colts. In Week 12, Pitre made one solo tackle before exiting during the second quarter of a 27–32 loss to theTennessee Titans after a shoulder injury. On November 27, 2024, the Texans officially placed him oninjured reserve for the remainder of the season after discovering he tore apectoral muscle and would have to undergo surgery.[28][29] He was inactive for the last five games (Weeks 13–18) of the2024 NFL season. He had a total of 65 combined tackles (44 solo), eight pass deflections, a forced fumble, and one interception in 12 games and 12 starts.[30] He received an overall grade of 73.9 from Pro Football Focus, which ranked 19th among all qualifying safeties in 2024.[31][23]