​Who are the NFL’s top young talents entering the 2026 season? And even more specifically, which members of the Houston Texans’ roster are viewed as elite up-and-coming players? Each offseason, CBS Sports surveys all 32 teams to identify the best 25 players under the age of 25. For Houston, stars such as Derek Stingley Jr., C.J. Stroud, and Nico Collins have appeared on the list across multiple seasons.
Collins, a three-time 1,000-yard contributor in Houston’s offense, left the list after the 2024 season. Stroud, who won’t turn 25 until October, also fell off the 2026 edition after a disappointing Year 3 performance. So, which Texans players were considered? How about the league’s highest-paid non-quarterback and the best young defensive back in franchise history?
Defensive end Will Anderson Jr. secured a spot at No. 6 on the list and was highlighted as the top-ranked defensive player among the young group. Derek Stingley Jr., who had earned a place on the list in the previous two offseasons, again made the cut, though he dropped to No. 16 overall and No. 4 among cornerbacks, behind Seattle’s Devon Witherspoon (No. 10), New England’s Christian Gonzalez (No. 13), and Philadelphia’s Quinyn Mitchell (No. 15). “Derek Stingley Jr. is one of the faces of Houston’s elite defense,” CBS Sports’ Tyler Sullivan wrote. “The former first-round pick out of LSU has earned first-team All-Pro honors and has been selected to the Pro Bowl in each of the last two seasons. In 2024, he allowed just 42.7% of passes thrown his way to be completed. That figure remained elite at 45.9% in 2025. Throughout his career, quarterbacks have posted a 42.9 passer rating when targeting Stingley. He’s elite in every sense of the word.”
A former All-American at LSU, Stingley has been synonymous with sticky, consistent coverage since 2023. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, no cornerback has accumulated more interceptions since 2023 than Stingley (14). He ranks second among all defensive backs in that span, trailing only Detroit’s Kirby Joseph (16). Working within DeMeco Ryans’ man-heavy defensive scheme, Stingley has consistently deterred quarterbacks from targeting him. Next Gen Stats show that between Weeks 8–13 last season, he allowed five catches for 57 yards on 19 targets during Houston’s 12-win campaign.
To read the full list and see who else earned a spot, you can click through the article. The Texans will resume their return to Reliant Stadium for training camp, which begins on July 21.
This recap draws from the Texans Wire feature that ranked Derek Stingley Jr. among the NFL’s best players under 25. It also highlights the ongoing assessment of other Texans young stars, including how Stroud’s early career trajectory and Collins’ recent departure from the under-25 fold shape Houston’s emerging talent picture for the 2026 season.