HOUSTON – The Texans have signed first-round draft pick Will Anderson to a four-year, fully guaranteed $35,212,818 million contract that includes a fifth-year club option and a $22.609 million signing bonus, according to a league source.
The contract for the third overall pick of the draft and former Alabama standout edge rusher was negotiated by Nicole Lynn and Kelton Crenshaw of Klutch Sports. The Texans’ primary negotiators are general manager Nick Caserio and Director of Football Administration Andrew Brown.
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Anderson is off to a fast start with the Texans, drawing consistently high praise from coach DeMeco Ryans, Caserio and teammates. He’s projected as an immediate starter at defensive end opposite veterans Jerry Hughes and Jonathan Greenard.
“Will has been great throughout camp,” Ryans said. “One thing about Will, he’s been the same guy who we thought we were getting when we drafted him, right? He’s been on it every single day. When it comes to just the effort, the tenacity that he plays with, the energy, everything about him, he’s been that and more. Will has gotten better each and every day. He takes coaching really well. Doc has done a really good job of working with him, honing in on just those small fine details of his game. Will has done a great job of absorbing coaching and being able to take it to the field and apply it. It’s been cool to watch.”
The Texans landed their highest-graded pass rusher and overall prospect in the draft after trading up with the Arizona Cardinals to select the All-American edge rusher from Alabama.
The Texans, after drafting Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud second overall, traded with the Cardinals to draft Anderson third overall. The Texans exchanged 12th overall and 33rd overall selections, their own 2024 first-round and third-round picks, and the Cardinals also sent their 105th overall pick.
“I know it’s the right place for me,” Anderson said. “I think it just proved that the Houston Texans were the right place for me. It showed me they think I’m a special player. They think I’m a high-character guy, and they believe in me to go in there and do everything I said -- keep my head down, work hard, and bring energy every day. I appreciate it so much. I told them a dozen times probably, like I’m so appreciative of them. I don’t take this for granted. That showed me how much they actually wanted me here. That’s all I wanted is to go somewhere where I felt wanted, where I felt like it was family. That’s what I’m big on. Just getting that feeling from them, it means everything.”
Anderson Jr. plays the game with a dynamic, relentless style, chasing down quarterbacks with skill and determination.
He was in heavy demand, visiting the Seattle Seahawks, the Texans and the Detroit Lions, per league sources.
Anderson met with the Chicago Bears and the Texans at the scouting combine among others.
The 6-foot-4, 243-pound Georgia native also won the Bednarik and Lombardi awards and the Lott Trophy and was a two-time consensus All-American and Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
Anderson recorded 34 1/2 career sacks, one interception, 204 tackles and one forced fumble. He had 10 sacks last season and 17 1/2 sacks in 2021.
His favorite pass-rushing move: the forklift.
“I love the forklift move, I like to watch Nick Bosa a lot,” Anderson said. “I like the way he does his bull-swipe I try to implement that into my game.”
As two former Alabama standouts, the bond between Anderson and Ryans is growing quickly.
“For me, the past couple years whenever I played, whether it’s high school or college, I’ve always had a head coach that I shared the same mentality with,” Anderson said. “That’s why it was easy for me to relate to the message he was trying to say to the team or just talking to me, and that’s what I love. That’s what I need. I want to play for somebody that’s got the same way I think.
“So when I came here and I talked to Coach Ryans, I was like I’ve got to be here. The same exact mindset, the same mentality, what he’s trying to preach, everything. That’s what I’m all about, and that’s what I want to do. It’s going to be a lot of hard work. Nothing is given to me. That’s the way I like it. I want to go out there and earn it. I want to go out and compete. The mindset he has and the mentality and the standard and the expectation, that’s everything I’m about. That’s why it was so easy for me to say, I want to be a Houston Texan. I want to go and play for that man right there.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com