Houston Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. (24) strips the ball from Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) on a pass reception late in the second half of their NFL football game at NRG Stadium in Houston on Dec. 15, 2024. (Al Diaz/Miami Herald)

HOUSTON — C.J. Stroud called Derek Stingley Jr. “the most talented player he’s ever played with.”

Kamari Lassiter said Stingley was the best player he’s ever seen.

Calen Bullock referred to him as “All-Pro Sting,” well before he even earned the honor.

Stingley finally got his due last week, when he was named first team All-Pro after finishing tied fifth in the NFL with five interceptions and second with 18 pass deflections.

Among cornerbacks with at least 250 coverage snaps (Stingley had 517), opposing quarterbacks have the lowest quarterback rating (56.9) when targeting him.

What makes Stingley great?

Well, plenty of things.

He’s got the ideal size for a cornerback at 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds. His football IQ is through the roof. He’s fast. He’s fundamentally sound.

But perhaps the biggest reason — his teammates, coaches and analysts say — is how he plays the receiver and his ability to locate the ball in the air to corral interceptions. Coach DeMeco Ryans often has him shadow the opposing team’s best receiver.

“Not many guys have that ability to track the football so a lot of guys play DB because they can’t catch it,” Ryans said, “but Derek does a good job of playing with great awareness but also having great hands to finish the play and make teams pay.”

Stingley had two interceptions in the Texans’ 32-12 playoff win over the Chargers last week.

Former Steelers safety and now ESPN analyst Ryan Clark, who is a fellow LSU alum, tweeted during the game that he feels Stingley could have been a Heisman winner had he played offense.

Stingley once played for Clark’s 7-on-7 team in high school, and Clark says Stingley caught every pass that came his way.

His father, Derek Stingley Sr., who was also a coach on the team, says that’s true.

“Although he was a five-star in high school as a DB, he most definitely could have been a five-star as a wide receiver,” Stingley Sr. says.

When Stingley was 4 years old, his father would take him to the football field to work on drills that focused on his footwork and running routes as a receiver. He’d then work on how to cover players, from off coverage to press coverage.

His father taught him what indicators to look for from a receiver.

The elder Stingley was an arena football coach and the younger Stingley, as a teenager, would accompany him to practice and even participate in drills.

“He was better than some of my grown men players,” the elder Stingley said of his son.

The younger Stingley is all ball, all the time.

He’s not the most comfortable during interviews, especially in big crowds with a ton of cameras in his face. He’s certainly gotten better since he first arrived in Houston in 2022 as the No. 3 overall pick.

But get him talking about football, the cornerback position, wide receiver, and the intricacies of it, and he can talk all day.

The Chronicle looked at three of Stingley’s interceptions in the past two years and asked him what he was thinking on each of those plays and how he made the plays. He remembered each one with precise detail.

INT vs. Chargers in wild-card round

There was 2:55 left in the game, and the Chargers trailed by 20. They were facing second-and-10 from their 44-yard line. Stingley was lined up one-on-one with Chargers receiver D.J. Chark.

“D.J. Chark, speedy guy, former LSU, by the way, I’m knowing that the ball is going to come out, but it’s got to go down the field,” Stingley says, “so once he breaks back up the field on a go ball, and I know he’s within reach of me, I just look back for the ball.”

For a second it looked like Chark had a step on Stingley, but that was not the case. Stingley was in perfect position and snagged it out of the air.

“I know it looks like I’m getting beat but I’m just tracking the ball,” he said. “The ball was short, so I just slowed down.”

Stingley further explained that he often looks at a receiver’s shoulder as a sign in how the quarterback will throw the ball and the trajectory of it. He said cornerbacks coach Dino Vasso taught him that.

“If you look at the difference in (quarterback Justin) Herbert’s shoulders between the first pick when he threw the out route that was tipped versus that one, when he threw the out route, his shoulders were level,” Stingley said. “So the ball is coming out, and in my mind, he’s not trying to hit the go shot, he’s not trying to get the ball downfield.”

“But on that one (the go-route), his shoulders were pointed up to the sky. It’s just the angles.”

Game-sealing INT vs. Dolphins

Stingley was lined up one-on-one with Tyreek Hill, one of the best receivers in the NFL, with the game on the line.

At the time, the Texans led 20-12 with 1:44 left. The Dolphins were facing first-and-10 from their 23-yard line.

Stingley said it was pretty much the same situation as Chark. He knew they wanted to get downfield, so he figured a go-route was coming.

“Knowing Tyreek, Tyreek is speed, his eyes start to get a little bit bigger,” Stingley said. “Soon as I turned back and looked at the ball, I was looking straight up almost at the roof, because it’s later on in the route. I didn’t see the ball thrown. So the ball dropped right. And you know it’s back shoulder because of the way Tyreek turned.

“His shoulder was out.”

Interception. Stingley called game.

INT vs. the Broncos in 2023

This play happened in the fourth quarter last season, with the Texans leading the Broncos 22-17. The Broncos had second-and-6 from their 36.

The Texans were playing Cover-4. Jalen Pitre, who was playing safety, appears to bite on Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton’s double move. And for a second, it looked like an opening, but it was just a trap.

Stingley, who was playing outside, was there.

“Sutton, once he breaks back up the field, at that point, I see that Russ doesn’t think that I see him getting ready to throw the ball,” Stingley said. “So the ball is thrown, I’m looking ball and receiver, ball, so I can see.”

At the last minute, Stingley comes out of nowhere and jumps right in front of Sutton to pick off former Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson.

The NFL’s Next Gen Stats gave the play a 33.3% probability to be completed, which aren’t bad odds. But Stingley snatched those away.

In December, defensive coordinator Matt Burke was asked if he was becoming used to these kind of plays from Stingley, who now has 10 regular-season interceptions in the past two seasons, and two in the postseason.

Burke replied “No.”

“I never take for granted everything these guys do,” he said. “And it’s been cool to see Sting — always a special talent, but just to see the level of play kind of start to really rise up to that and match up consistently play in, play out, he’s becoming a very, very special player for us.

“And obviously, I think an elite level corner in this league. But I never take any of that for granted.”