HOUSTON – Walking to practice every day, Kamari Lassiter and Calen Bullock frequently listen to the same music, usually tunes from rapper NBA Youngboy
They celebrate every impactful play, especially when Bullock returned future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ interception half the football field for a touchdown in a playoff win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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Now, the two best friends are going to the Pro Bowl Games together.
They were both added to the AFC squad as first alternates Monday afternoon, joining first-team selection teammates All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., wide receiver Nico Collins, middle linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair and defensive end Will Anderson Jr.
Bullock replaces Pittsburgh Steelers safety Jalen Ramsey, and Lassiter replaces New England Patriots corner Christian Gonzalez.
It’s a big accomplishment for key pieces of the Texans’ top-ranked defense and sixth-ranked pass defense.
Lassiter intercepted four passes and delivered some jolting hits with 91 total tackles, seven for losses with 17 passes defense. The former Georgia standout has seven career interceptions and allowed a 79.8 opposing quarterback rating this season, 690 yards and a 57.5 completion percentage.
In the playoffs, Lassiter had four passes defensed and allowed five completions on 14 targets for 71 yards and a 53.0 passer rating.
Bullock intercepted four passes during the regular season and one more in the playoffs. He had 64 tackles and one forced fumble, defending 10 passes. He has nine career interceptions. He allowed a 50.8 completion percentage, 492 yards and an opposing passer rating of 72.6.
“Big picture, everyone just has to look at themselves in the mirror,” Lassiter told KPRC 2 after the Texans’ divisional-round playoff loss to the Super Bowl bound New England Patriots. “Just start with myself, just look in the mirror and look at the season and see what more could you have done. Look at the plays that you made, look at the plays you didn’t make, and ask yourself why you didn’t make them.
“Ask yourself why you made the plays you did and what can you do to continue making those plays, and what can you do to make the plays you didn’t make? I feel like we didn’t hit our ultimate goal. I’m not gonna say it was a waste of a season, but we just didn’t accomplish what we wanted to. So, we gotta go back to the drawing board. I hate losing.”
His aggressive tackling style sets Lassiter apart.
“It’s a unique skill set and a unique talent that he brings, and I would say that that’s pretty rare in a corner and the way he plays,” Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke said. “He’s a want-to tackler, not a need-to. If you need to make a tackle, they do it, but he’s a want-to tackler. He wants to get in there.
“He wants to stick his face on things. He wants to be physical. He craves that and that’s not a common skill in that position. I think it’s, again, that’s part of the culture in the den that we’ve built. He’s at the forefront of that for sure.”
Bullock had a three turnover performance in a win over the Buffalo Bills and star quarterback Josh Allen, intercepting him twice and forcing a fumble. He sealed the game with his final interception.
“He hunted all night,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Man, the best game I’ve seen.”
A former USC standout who has a background as an outside cornerback before switching to safety, Bullock simply has a nose for the football and the kind of athleticism and reactions that are unteachable.
“He’s a ball hawk,” Al-Shaair said. “It’s just who he is. He’s one of the best in the league in being able to do that. He’s just in the right spots.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com