HOUSTON – Will Anderson Jr. jolted the blocker with a powerful shove, overpowering a hopeless attempt to slow him down.
Barreling into the backfield, Anderson accelerated as he drilled Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams in the back for a sack.
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In another display of his formidable pass rushing skills, a combination of speed around the edge and a rip move that requires strength and technique allowed Anderson to one of his career-high three sacks of New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye.
The Texans’ Pro Bowl pass rusher, a former NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, chased down Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson, for yet another sack. The way he popped the football out of the hand of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailo was another example of Anderson’s formidable repertoire of moves and relentlessness.
When the playoffs began, Anderson was all over Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert as he delivered impactful performances in the postseason. He recorded a career-high 11 sacks in the regular season, one less than Pro Bowl edge Danielle Hunter with another 3 1/2 sacks in the postseason.
It was a steady hit parade for the former Alabama star as Anderson was an absolute menace for quarterbacks he harassed constantly and offensive linemen he embarrassed at the line of scrimmage.
Now, Anderson has set his ambitions on climbing to even greater heights as a sackmaster and as an all-around scourge for opponents.
It’s a shared goal. That’s why coach DeMeco Ryans, the architect of the Texans’ aggressive, talented defense, had a private conversation with Anderson about working on the nuances of his game to firm up the smaller details to become an even more formidable all-around football player.
“Yeah, it is crazy,” Anderson said in response to a question from KPRC 2 about how he can improve even more heading into his third NFL season. “I came out here all fired up and everything. DeMeco pulled me to the side and was like, ‘Now, it is about fine tuning those little things in your game. How precise can you be? How good can you be at taking the next step up?’
“For me, it is just like when I am on the block using my hands better, getting off blocks, my escape when I am rushing the passer, am I reaching with position on the quarterback, can I get some strip sacks? Stuff like that, those are the things I want to work on this offseason. Really just getting precise at those things and taking my game to the next level.”
Two former Alabama standouts. Two Texans Pro Bowl defenders. Two men who are pivotal to the Texans’ outlook as they seek to win their third consecutive AFC South division title during their shared tenure.
“What Will has to do to continue to step his game up and take it to another level, I mean football is about the fine smaller details,” Ryans said. “It’s about the get-off, the hand placement as a rusher, being able to convert. There are so many technical things that he can get better at as a rusher that would allow him to take his game to the next level.”
As disruptive and productive as Anderson has been since being drafted third overall in the first round in 2023, he’s still chasing more goals. He would like to be named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year and achieve All-Pro status.
Anderson won’t be eligible for a new contract until after this season. Once he completes his third NFL season, the former NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year can then be signed to a multiyear deal.
While that will obviously be an expensive undertaking, it’s an investment the Texans are expected to embrace. And Anderson is more than open to negotiating with the defending AFC South champions.
“Most definitely, I want to be here the rest of my career honestly,” Anderson told KPRC 2. “As long as I can be here, that’s what I want: to be here.”
Anderson has emerged as one of the top defensive players in the game.
He has combined for 18 sacks in his first two NFL seasons with 82 tackles, 26 for losses and 41 quarterback hits. He had 16 tackles for losses last season.
In the playoffs, he had five quarterback hits.
There were opportunities missed, though. Anderson didn’t always finish plays and there were multiple missed sacks. Anderson was shown why in a video from defensive line coach Rod Wright that showed him running past the quarterback instead of taking a tighter, more precise angle to get to the quarterback and get him on the ground.
“My coach has done a phenomenal job, coach Rod,” Anderson said. “He has done great just putting together a whole presentation for us of all the sacks we missed, the missed opportunities we could have done, hitting the ball the wrong way, hitting the elbow the wrong way, reaching too high, getting the penalty, stuff like that.
“We left a lot of sacks out on the table and that is why I am talking about going back and being precise. How good can you be at the process of attacking the throwing arm? How good can you be at taking the ball away? Getting good the strip sack? Picking it up, taking it to the crib? Those are the things we want to start putting into our bag. Finesse moves and things that can take our game to the next level.”
Toward that goal, Anderson trained this offseason with Cleveland Browns stud defensive end Myles Garrett. The former top overall pick from Texas A&M and NFL Defensive Player of the Year is one of the strongest and most dominant defensive linemen in the league. His workouts are legendary, especially how much weight he can lift. Working out with Garrett was motivational for Anderson, and educational.
“It really all came down to mentality,” Anderson said. “I had a good mentality but working out with Myles and just seeing how he works and stuff like that it kind of changed my mindset a little bit. He doesn’t worry about the outside noise. He is all about self-improvement, how much better can I get.
“It is really just me versus me. That is the attitude I am taking on, it is me versus me. You don’t have to worry about anything anybody else says. How are you enjoying your process? It is very competitive. He is hilarious, he is a funny guy. It got very competitive, a lot of words were shared, and it just brings out the best in both of us.”
The Texans finished fifth in total defense last season and ranked third in sacks as they set a franchise record.
Anderson would like more sacks, of course
“Any double digits,” he said. “My thing is, how much can I enjoy my process? When you fall in love with your process, how consistent can you be? I think that is something you can reach. Right now, I have to fall in love with the process, I have to keep doing my process the right way and be consistent.”
“Just being more detailed, more focused, a sense of urgency. Now that we have been in some of these big games, we know what it takes to be there. It is about execution, it is about locking in, playing one game at a time, and everybody doing their job at the highest level possible.”
When Anderson Jr. and Hunter get into a three-point stance at the line of scrimmage, there’s typically a weakness the Texans’ bookend pass rushers can exploit.
Anderson plays the game with a rare combination of size, speed and relentlessness, upgrading his skills with a deeper repertoire of moves and strategy.
Hunter, one of the top athletes in the league regardless of position, is a sculpted former track and football star at Morton Ranch High School who has more than lived up to the Texans’ hefty investment.
“Coming off last year, I feel like we have great chemistry,” Hunter said. “We know how each other rush now. Going out there, I can figure out what he’s about to do. He’ll figure out what I’m about to do. It’s great chemistry,”
As outstanding as Anderson has been for the Texans, there’s a feeling around the team that he’s capable of doing even more. That includes his leadership as a team captain in balloting from his teammates.
“I think for Will the biggest thing has just been the way that he has leaded,” middle linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair said. “As you get older, the one thing that I had challenged him was knowing your audience. Know who you are talking to because everyone doesn’t respond to that. I know for me, especially as a young player, I did not respond well to anybody being aggressive with me in that manner.
“Just seeing how he is now, he still brings the same energy, the same juice but just seeing that extra maturity to read the room and read the situation to where it can be a very softspoken and very quiet talk to one guy that you may have saw on the field or something that is going on. He is great player, great leader and it is just good to see him just continuing to progress.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com
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