Texans corner Kamari Lassiter keeps growing in second NFL season: ‘I’m hungry, I’m not satisfied’

Kamari Lassiter lined up across from Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman and perfectly mirrored every step he took.

It was such a thoroughly textbook application of coverage technique that it could be used to teach how to play the cornerback position at its highest level.

Although Bateman has speed to burn as an outside receiver, there was no breathing room for him as Lassiter basically ran his route for him. Running step for step with Bateman, Lassiter retreated along the sideline and high-pointed the football on an errant pass from Ravens quarterback Cooper Rush for his first interception of the season in a 44-10 blowout victory at M&T Bank Stadium.

“I just saw the receiver, speed release, and you know, sometimes you know whenever somebody’s getting ready to get the ball,” Lassiter said. “I mean speed release, take-off and I could just feel his mannerisms. I was on my sideline so I heard: ‘Ball, ball, ball! Look, go find it and get it.”

Locked downnn 🔒

📺: @nfloncbs / @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/sC9NTOi1N1

— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) October 5, 2025

Known as “The Locksmith,” for his ability to lock up receivers with his sticky coverage skills, Lassiter delivered an acrobatic, game-changing interception of Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert during an AFC wild-card round playoff victory. He joined former NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt as the only two rookies in franchise history to intercept a pass in a playoff game.

In his second NFL season, Lassiter has emerged as one of the top young cornerbacks in the league. He’s a key reason why the Texans have the top-ranked scoring defense with an average of just 12.2 points per contest for the best mark in franchise history and ranking far ahead of the Denver Broncos’ second-best average of 15.8 points a game.

As well as Lassiter has played, especially since the departure of controversial safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who was cut Tuesday from the Ravens’ practice squad at his request, it’s not quite up to the impeccably high standard he expects individually. Lassiter’s intensity is impossible to overlook. He wears his game face and passion for football all of the time.

“I’ve always had that itch to practice hard, that’s where I come from, but I feel like I’ve definitely kind of just tuned in more on like my weekly process and I feel like it’s not coming to fruition yet,” Lassiter said. “To be brutally honest, I’m not really satisfied. Despite the play at the end of the game, like with the pick, everything. I feel like that’s expected. We have a high standard amongst each other that every ball is ours.

“It’s great to be able to make a play, but I want to make every play. So I’m just blessed to be in a position to be around these guys and a coach like this. To be able to make a play like that. I’m hungry for more, I’m not really satisfied. I don’t really think that, outside of us winning, me personally, when you tap in, I need to dig deeper.’

Lassiter trained hard all summer alongside his private coach, Jacory Nichols, backpedaling, cutting and covering alongside several teammates, including one of his best friends, safety Calen Bullock.

The blue-collar work ethic. The physical style as a willing and capable tackler. Recovery speed. Advanced knowledge of the game.

Lassiter has a lot working in his favor.

Especially his uncomplacent mentality.

“From that mindset, I want our entire team thinking that way, how Kamari is thinking,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “It’s not about getting overly excited about the big play or the win. It’s focusing on, ‘What about those plays you missed?’ That’s where you should harp on the most to me, because how can you get better and play a complete game as a player? That’s what you’re always seeking.

“I understand nobody’s going to be perfect, but we’re striving for perfection every single time that you’re out there. If you’re a true pro, if it means a lot to you like Kamari, every single play matters. There is no, ‘Oh, it’s okay. I let them get a play here or there.’ You cannot have that mindset. That’s the mindset that Kamari has. That’s why he’s always straining. He has that desire to continue to grow, continue to get better. That allows him to be a really great, great pro for us.”

Lassiter isn’t big on self-promotion. He’s about action. He’s focused on tape and teamwork. The flashiest thing about him is his nickname and a special silver chain with an engraved lock with ‘K3′ stenciled in the middle.

“I call myself The Locksmith,’” Lassiter said. “I pride myself on having stuff on lock. I really wanted to get a lock with the name ‘Locksmith’ on there.”

A teammate at Georgia gave him the nickname as an underclassmen.

“He started calling me The Locksmith and it just kind of stuck with me,” Lassiter said. “Got it on lock.”

Signed to a four-year, $9.014 million contract that included a $3.376 million signing bonus, Lassiter yielded only 136 passing yards and no touchdowns on 15 receptions off 37 targets in his final collegiate season to rank first in the NCAA among cornerbacks, according to Pro Football Focus analytics.

“Cold,” Texans All-Pro corner Derek Stingley Jr. said. “He different. He is different. I’m proud of him.”

Lassiter recorded 58 tackles, 10 passes defensed and one safety as a rookie, allowing 32 completions on 73 targets for 424 yards and four touchdowns for an opposing quarterback rating of 64.0 while lining up opposite Pro Bowl cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. as a rookie. The way that Lassiter matches up with big, tall receivers like Collins and 6-foot-4 rookie Jayden Higgins stands out.

“Kamari continues to improve his details and that’s what sticks out about him,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “A Year Two player who doesn’t feel like a Year Two player, he’s continuing to ascend, continuing to make plays, continuing to push himself to be in those tough spots.

“Going against Nico, going against Higgins; those are tough guys to go against and he battles every single day and he finds a way to make a play. I think he made two picks today on the football, so it’s impressive to see such a young player who’s always dialed in, always bringing great energy and great emotion to our defense, and the guys they really vibe with that. He’s a spark plug for our team.”

Lassiter has displayed a competitive mettle and ability to do it all as a physical corner.

After a stellar career for a national championship squad with the Georgia Bulldogs, Lassiter has made an immediate impact on the Texans’ defense.

“I feel like I was built for it since I was young,” Lassiter said. “There’s not much I haven’t seen. I play with the passion I’ve always had and play for the people who love me and even the people who hate me. Everything cranks up in the playoffs. It’s all on the line. It’s win or go home.”

The camaraderie and quality of the secondary makes them a potentially special group. There’s Stingley on one side opposite Lassiter with hard-hitting Jalen Pitre at nickel, veteran safety and Super Bowl champion C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who intercepted six passes last season for the Philadelphia Eagles and Bullock, who tied Stingley for the team lead with five interceptions as a rookie last season.

Bullock emphasizes the Texans are the best secondary collectively, not one of the best. Lassiter doesn’t disagree, but he’s ultra-focused.

“I don’t get into it,“ Lassiter said of the rankings. ”I just know how good each individual player is in our secondary. And I know like what we can be, but I mean, what we can be doesn’t really matter, you know, it’s what we do on the field. So, I mean we just got to keep coming together as one, keep playing as a unit. And whenever the time, whenever the ball is there, we got to go get it.

“Exactly, yeah, potential is just a word. It’s what you do on that field, what you put on tape. Every time we come on this field, we got to put it on tape, then we’re the best secondary.“

At camp, the secondary has been flying around. There haven’t been a lot of big plays by the offense. And the camaraderie of the group is strong.

“I mean, that’s what training camp is all about, just kind of getting a group of guys together and just seeing how well we play together,“ Lassiter said. ”And I feel like we’re gelling very well together. We’re playing very well against each other.

“I feel guys feed off each other, whenever somebody makes a play, everyone gets happy. Whenever somebody doesn’t make a play you got your brother right there to pick you up. All right, come on, we got another play. Just next man mentality. I just feel like this defense is gonna surprise a lot of people.“

Operating behind a defense headlined by Pro Bowl pass rushers Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr., the secondary is preparing for the football to come of the quarterbacks’ hands fast. There should be opportunities to make plays.

“I definitely know that rush and cover works hand in hand,” Lassiter said. “We have an amazing rush with those guys up front. I mean like you can’t ask for much more and they’re attacking. I mean just playing on that back end, you just kind of know. Sometimes that ball might get out fast and if it doesn’t, just do your job.“

When he’s not playing football, Lassiter spends time with family or playing video games. He says nobody on the team can beat him in the UFC fighting game. “I’m the best for sure,” he said.

Lassiter doesn’t waste time looking back. A second-round draft pick, Lassiter was the fifth cornerback selected overall after first-round picks Quinyon Mitchell, Terrion Arnold and Nate Wiggins and second-round pick Kool-Aid McKinstry.

Not being drafted higher isn’t something that consumes Lassiter. He’s grounded in the present: the next play, the next practice, the next game.

“I don’t really care, that’s in the past,“ Lassiter said. ”’m grateful to be drafted. I’m blessed to be in this position. I’m blessing on this team and playing with the guys that I get to play with every day. I mean, I got drafted. A lot of people didn’t, can’t say that. So I mean I’m not really worried about that.”

The Houston Texans‘ bread and butter to their success through five weeks of the 2025 season hinges upon their defensive prowess and their all-around talent on that side of the ball.

For those on the offensive end in the Texans’ facility going against that unit in practice every week, they know better than anyone how potent this defense can be.

Texans wide receiver, Xavier Hutchinson, is among those on the offensive end lining up against one of the best secondaries in the league every week in preparation for the Sundays that lie ahead— a group headlined by star cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., and a deep supporting cast at corner and safety to help the Texans finish five weeks allowing the lowest points per game defensively at 12.2 points.

But in the mind of Hutchinson, while Stingley gets a lot of the attention for being the star talent that he is, there’s one name in the secondary who’s gone a bit under-the-radar due to the guy that lines up on the other side of him: second-year cornerback Kamari Lassiter, who Hutchinson considers the most underrated piece of the Texans’ defense.

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“I would probably say Kamari [Lassiter]… With Sting being who he is, you forget about the other corner on the other side, who can do basically the same thing that Sting does,” Hutchinson said on The Up And Adams Show. “I feel like Kamari definitely needs his flowers. He shows up every day, he’s a dog as well.”

“I don’t know if y’all see him, he be hitting his head with his hands a lot. I don’t know if ya’ll be seeing that, but he’s a little psycho. So, he’s definitely someone who I think should definitely be getting a little bit more praise. But, he’s going to continue to show it on Sundays.”

Being the second corner next to one of the highest-paid guys at the position on a weekly basis, it’s easy to forget how effective Lassiter can be individually as a core component of the Texans’ defensive success.

Through five weeks of action, Lassiter’s been graded as the 40th-best cornerback in the NFL via Pro Football Focus (67.4 grade), allowing 18 receptions on 26 targets for an average of just 9.2 yards per reception he allows. He’s also secured his first interception on the season during Week 5 against the Baltimore Ravens.

Oct 5, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Deandre Hopkins (10) is tackled by Houston Texans cornerback Kamari Lassiter (4) during the first quarter at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images / Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

The other half of a largely productive cornerback tandem, in Hutchinson’s eyes, is deserving of that due credit, and more of a share than he’s seen to this point in his career––someone who can make the job difficult for an opposing receiving core on the other side of Stingley to help make a noticeable dent with his athleticism and defensive instincts.

As the Texans move past their bye and continue forward with their dominant defense, it’ll get harder to overlook what Lassiter brings to the table if Houston keeps up its league-best scoring defense, where maybe then he can receive the flowers that Hutchinson feels he’s more than deserving of.

On CB Kamari Lassiter and his mindset to always improve

[Kamari Lassiter] goes in and closes the game out for us right on the go ball. So, outstanding job. I was happy for Kamari [Lassiter] to finally get one. I talked about it throughout the week. He did it in practice all throughout the week and came up short. He got a couple pass deflections a couple of times but now to see him actually get it, I was very proud of him for that. He’s worked hard at it for the past two weeks. To finally see it come to fruition, that was cool.”

What Lassiter does care about deeply is winning and being reliable for his teammates and coaches. Ultimately, it’s about trying to win a Super Bowl. Anything less isn’t satisfying.

“That’s what we’re all working for,” Lassiter said. “That’s the only goal to be honest: to win a championship. I feel like every guy in this locker room, player, coach, support staff, anybody, I feel that’s what were all working towards. And that’s why we put our best foot forward every day.”

“Kamari has been consistent,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “He’s a tough, hard-nosed player, old school. He’s a corner who loves to play physical, which is rare these days. Kamari likes to tackle, and he brings a different intensity out on the perimeter than most corners, because of his physicality, but also just his smarts intelligence and his playmaking ability.”

LOCK IT DOWN KAMARI 🔐

📺: @Nickelodeon and @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/2pePR2YUDq

— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) January 11, 2025

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com

Speaker 1: [00:01:44] I need to go I need to dig deeper and go harder, man. Last question I have for you, yeah. You know how much did you all have that game that you played in the back of your mind last year and how good did it feel for them not to need you to score again today? [00:01:58][14.6]

Speaker 2: [00:02:00] I mean it felt today was great. I mean, obviously they beat the breaks off us last year on Christmas for our own crowd, 31 and two. I mean, we obviously never forgot that. But I mean I don’t feel like that really trickled into this game. I feel like it’s a whole new season. I feel like it’s a different situation who came into their house. I mean I just feel like you know we were just trying to we were just trying to find our shot. You know, we we gave up a couple games early, and just trying to get that implantation football. No matter who’s out there play against, we feel like you know, as long as we play our best game, they’re you know people out there. So I mean we just went out there and did that great as one offense doing a hell of a job today. I mean CJ Potos, Hurts Footballs, Nico, Chill, Jay No. I mean they went out there playing past physical having fun out there. I mean they kickstarted defensively and go out there and have a good time so I mean shout out to offense and music plants all the time to the crowd, keep going. Thank you so much. [00:02:00][0.0]

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