LSU Cornerback Derek Stingley Officially Declares for 2022 NFL Draft

Stingley's career marred by injury last two seasons after breakout freshman campaign

One of the most talented defensive backs to ever put on the purple and gold is officially off to the NFL. On Thursday, LSU cornerback Derek Stingley declared for the NFL Draft in a penned letter on the Players Tribune.

In the letter, Stingley wrote about how it had always been a dream of his as a Baton Rouge native to one day play for the Tigers and was thankful he was able to contribute to the storied history of the program.

"Becoming a national champion and being a part of the real DBU. Those experiences will last me a lifetime, and I’m proud to say I contributed to that. I’ll always rep LSU and the brotherhood forever," Stingley wrote. 

One of the most highly touted players coming out of high school to ever join the LSU program, Stingley had high expectations as a freshman in 2019 and exceeded them all. As a key piece to the Tigers 2019 national championship run, Stingley recorded 38 tackles, 21 passes defended and six interceptions, which led the country. 

He earned unanimous All-American nods as a freshman and quickly earned the respect as one of the premier college players. After his freshman season, quarterback Joe Burrow instantly sung his praises for what he saw Stingley accomplish.

"He is the best young cornerback I’ve ever seen and I’ve been around some great ones. He’s the best and it’s really not even close," Burrow said on Adam Schefter's Podcast ahead of the 2020 NFL draft. "He plays the position so smooth that it’s just really hard to get open on him."

The last two seasons have been a bit of a decline for Stingley purely from the perspective of injury as he missed three games as a sophomore and 10 games this last season due to a leg injury that required surgery. Awarded the No. 7 prior to his junior season, the opportunity to see Stingley on the field in that jersey was far too little.

Nevertheless, Stingley's talent still has him firmly planted as a high first round pick with instant impact potential in the NFL.