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2022 NFL Draft recruiting rewind: LSU's Derek Stingley Jr. to Houston Texans
Perhaps no player in the NFL draft had a better freshman season than LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., who immediately played like a lockdown corner in the SEC with the upside of an NFL All-Pro.
But over the past two seasons, Stingley has struggled with injuries and consistency, which made his draft status a minor question mark.
A lock for the first round, some still wondered if he would go top-3 or slide?
It didn't take long to get an answer, as Stingley was selected No. 3 overall by the Houston Texans.
Here's how the dynamic LSU defensive back was ranked as a high school prospect coming out of Dunham School (Louisiana) in the class of 2019:
Ranking:5-star prospect; Nation's No. 2 overall prospect, No. 1 cornerback
Notable: The only prospect rated higher than Stingley was New Jersey defensive end Antonio Alfano, who has struggled to find his footing in college football.
Among cornerbacks, Stingley easily took the top spot, but 247Sports had several notable names among the nation's top players - Andrew Booth Jr. (No. 5 cornerback; Clemson), Trent McDuffie (No. 7; Washington) and Kaiir Elam (No. 10; Florida).
Ranking: 5-star prospect; Nation's No. 1 overall prospect, No. 1 cornerback
Notable: Stingley was rated the No. 1 player in the country, a rare feat for a defensive back.
Ranking: 4-star prospect; Nation's No. 18 overall prospect, No. 1 cornerback
Notable: To be candid, this is a bit of a head-scratcher.
Coming out of high school, nearly everyone saw Stingley as a generational cornerback talent.
Even after two years of inconsistent play in the SEC, he was still projected to be a top-10 pick in pre-draft analysis based on that historic potential.
The fact that Stingley was a four-star prospect in ESPN database is among the most eye-opening outliers in this entire recruiting rewind series.
Senior season highlights
