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Calen Bullock could take another big step for the Houston Texans this coming season.

The Houston Texans’ defense starts with their pass rush, led by Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr., then attention turns to cornerbacks Derek Stingley Jr. and Kamari Lassiter. But safety Calen Bullock is more than just a beneficiary of stellar support.

He is a playmaker in his own right.

Bullock’s production has come at a significant discount for the Texans over the past two seasons. The time when both sides will need to reevaluate the situation is coming, though.

Texans’ Calen Bullock Could Take Another Step

Citing Bullock’s $1.5 million average salary, Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport listed the Texans safety as the “biggest bargain” in the NFL at his position.

“If the 23-year-old former third-round pick out of USC keeps playing like he has over his first two seasons, Bullock’s star turn is coming,” Davenport wrote on May 19. “That second season got Bullock the first Pro Bowl nod of his career, and he has been excellent in coverage—his career passer rating against is just 52.4, and Bullock has allowed less than 48 percent of the passes thrown in his direction to be completed.”

The Texans selected Bullock with the 78th overall pick of the 2024 draft.

That is well behind where the Texans selected Stingley (No. 3), Lassiter (No. 42), and Jalen Pitre (No. 37). However, Bullock is also the second member of the group to earn Pro Bowl honors, joining Stingley.

Bullock has started 30 regular-season games and played in all 34 since entering the NFL. His 9 interceptions over the past two seasons are tied for the third-most in the league, per Stathead.

Bullock and the Texans ranked first overall and second in scoring defensively last season.

Kamari Ramsey Could Finally Give Calen Bullock a Proper Running Mate

The Texans tied for third in the league with 19 interceptions as a team, and they did so without a proper running mate alongside Bullock.

The Texans began the season with C.J. Gardner-Johnson there, and they ended with 2025 sixth-round pick Jaylen Reed lining up next to Bullock on the back end and Pitre at his typical nickelback spot.

That could all change following the 2026 draft.

The Texans selected Bullock’s fellow former USC Trojan Kamari Ramsey 141st overall. He reunites with 2025 fourth-round corner Jaylin Smith, the 97th overall pick last year.

“Ramsey will likely start his career providing depth at safety and at nickel,” The Ringer’s Todd McShay wrote before the draft. “Malaki Starks, a 2025 first-round pick, is quicker and has longer arms, making him an imperfect comp, but there are shades of Starks’s game in Ramsey’s. Both are versatile safeties with similar sizes and top-end speed. There’s also a strong argument that both were better as sophomores than as juniors in college.”

The Texans are a strong environment for Ramsey to regain his form and find his footing. They have also proven more than willing to turn to players who will help them, regardless of where they were drafted.