[2022 Draft/2-37] Jalen Pitre, S, Baylor

https://theathletic.com/3264171/2022/04/29/nfl-draft-2022-jalen-pitre-jets/

In modern-day defenses, having a player such as Jalen Pitre is critical.

As spread offenses grew more sophisticated in how they use personnel packages and formations, versatility became a premium asset in defending those schemes. Pitre has it in droves.

Need someone who can rush the quarterback off the edge? Pitre can do that.

Need a player who can cover the slot receiver? Pitre can do that, too.

Need a guy who can make open-field tackles or create a turnover? Check and check.

The Baylor safety, who the Houston Texans selected No. 37 overall in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft, is the quintessential hybrid defender. In the last two seasons at Baylor, he played the “star” position in Dave Aranda’s defense, essentially a big nickelback, handling responsibilities of both an outside linebacker and a close-to-the-box defensive back.

He did it flawlessly, earning Big 12 defensive player of the year honors in 2021. He led the conference in tackles for loss (18.5) and forced fumbles (three), becoming the only FBS player last year to record at least three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and two interceptions.

“He plays the game the way you’re trying to demonstrate for everybody else,” Baylor defensive coordinator Ron Roberts said. “He plays the game with everything he’s got. He plays with passion. He plays full speed. And (scouts) saw him communicating splits and what plays were about to happen and communicating with other defensive players to help other guys around him be better.”

Roberts and Aranda weren’t quite sure what they had in Pitre when they arrived in January 2020. Pitre spent his first few seasons at Baylor playing linebacker under the previous staff. Roberts said they considered putting Pitre at weakside linebacker, but when Dillon Doyle transferred in from Iowa to play that position, that cemented Pitre in the “star” role.

Roberts said there are two requirements for the position. He is looking for “a guy who can cover the slot and tackle in space. And those are two things he does really well.”

Pitre’s ability to time blitzes while disguising his intentions allowed him to regularly wreak havoc on opposing offenses. In 23 games over his last two seasons, he notched 31.5 tackles for loss. He’s a capable cover man too, adept at reading opposing quarterbacks, Roberts said. In the NFL, he’s probably best suited in a role similar to his college one, close to the box where he can affect the game in multiple ways.

Dane Brugler on Jalen Pitre (No. 4 S, No. 38 overall prospect in The Beast)

Pitre has only average speed but projects best as a “big nickel” in a role that takes advantage of his athletic versatility, spatial awareness and competitive urgency. He will be an immediate special teamer and has NFL starting potential.

Media moment

Pitre will forever be remembered by Baylor fans for being the only commitment in the Bears’ 2017 recruiting class for months.

After the school fired coach Art Briles in 2016 after an independent investigation concluded that the coach and his staff ignored reports of sexual assault by Baylor football players (part of a campus-wide culture of non-reporting), the entire recruiting class decommitted, except Pitre.

A three-star safety recruit, Pitre at the time cited the educational opportunities and Baylor’s belief in him as reasons for sticking with the school. When new coach Matt Rhule was hired in December 2016, Pitre became an integral part of the new recruiting class that Rhule had to rebuild almost from scratch.

In addition to Pitre, several of those 2017 Baylor recruits — including linebacker Terrel Bernard, running back Abram Smith, guard Xavier Newman-Johnson and receiver R.J. Sneed — played key roles in the Bears’ 2019 Big 12 runner-up finish and 2021 Big 12 championship team.

Pitre finished his five-year Baylor career with an undergraduate degree in business and a master’s in education psychology.

“I feel like I was a little overlooked, but I was very thankful for Baylor giving me a shot,” Pitre told the Associated Press in December. “With that gratitude, I was sold on coming here and doing what I needed to do to become the man that I could be, and growing on and off the field. … It’s crazy to look back and see how far I’ve come.”

Coachspeak

“The best thing about Jalen Pitre is his football intelligence and his work ethic,” Roberts said. “His ability to make plays and all that stuff was great, but the best thing about him is his IQ, how well he picks things up and what the offense is doing and trying to do and recognizing formations and things that come off of it and then and be able to communicate that to the guys around him.”

What you may have missed

Like several other members of Baylor’s 2017 recruiting class, Pitre had to play right away. He started eight games in 2017 as the Bears endured a 1-11 season.

In Rhule’s last year as Baylor coach before leaving for the Carolina Panthers, the staff utilized the new NCAA redshirt rule — which allows players to play up to four games while preserving a year of eligibility — to help Pitre’s physical development.

Because Pitre was forced into action as a true freshman, before he was truly ready, Rhule said Pitre “deserved” the opportunity to redshirt, hoping to give him a better chance at success in the back end of his college career and potentially the next level.

So Pitre sat out Baylor’s three nonconference games in 2019, then played the next four to start conference play. Rhule’s intention was to keep Pitre sidelined for the rest of the season. The Bears were a little thin at linebacker, so before a Halloween game against West Virginia, Pitre approached Rhule, volunteering to play a fifth game. “Coach, I’ll do whatever for the team,” Pitre told the coach. Rhule told him “That’s why I love you, but you’re redshirting the rest of the year.”

“He battled and battled and battled for this team,” Rhule said in 2019. “I told him ‘We’re going to do right by you because you did right by us.’”

Pitre didn’t play the rest of the season and — after Aranda and the new staff arrived in 2020 following Rhule’s departure — he became an integral part of the defense the next two seasons.