Will Anderson Jr. Reveals Secret to Success For Stellar Texans Rookie Class

A group chat following the draft led to Will Anderson Jr. and his fellow draftmates set a tone to help bring relevancy back to the Houston Texans.

HOUSTON — As soon as Will Anderson Jr. and C.J. Stroud became teammates, they created a group chat that featured the rest of the Houston Texans' 2023 rookie class.

The goal was to have each player - from the top overall selection of the draft to the undrafted free agents - re-establish a franchise success in a franchise that had been struggling since 2020.

Saturday afternoon, that rookie class will lead the Texans in a Wild Card playoff matchup against the Cleveland Browns at NRG Stadium.

"When you look at me and C.J. and the programs that we come from, and the type of cultures that we've been in, our goal was to come in and implement those things into this organization," Anderson said. "The guys have been great here. They wanted to win and be great. As rookies, we did a really good job of being on the same page of what we wanted to accomplish."

Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. (51) walks on the field after the game against the Tennessee Titans at NRG Stadium / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Each rookie who stepped onto the field during the regular season impacted the Texans' success. And as expected, Anderson established himself as one of Houston's most effective players.

He finished the regular season as a strong candidate for Rookie Defensive Player of the Year honors, posting 45 tackles, 22 quarterback hits, 10 tackles for loss, and 7.0 sacks — a franchise record for a rookie.

Anderson also helped revamp the Texans' run defense. Houston registered the sixth-best run defense by allowing 96.6 yards on the ground. The year before Anderson's arrival, the Texans gave up a league-worst 170.2 yards.

Anderson's first season has shown signs of being on the same trajectory as Browns' defensive star Myles Garrett. And similar to the three-time All-Pro member, Anderson's impact goes beyond his disruption on the defensive front.

He contributed to the Texans' success on special teams, that led to Houston finishing the season with the top-rated unit for the second consecutive season.

In their Week 3 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Anderson blocked Brandon McManus' 51-yard field goal attempt. And in a victory over the Denver Broncos, Anderson recorded his second special team block by denying Riley Dixon's punt.

"We all understand that certain drafted players are sometimes they’re a little excluded from special teams roles," special teams coordinator Frank Ross said. "But when you’ve got guys that are that talented, love the game of football and are willing to do whatever it takes to help the team win then that’s a dangerous recipe. 

"Any great player such as a Will Anderson Jr., hopefully, he’s able to continue to contribute to the kicking game for us whenever those guys are available. Hopefully, we’re going to operate under that for as long as we can."

Anderson has played the previous two games with an ankle injury but has maintained the same impact while playing limited snaps. In his first game back, Anderson had one of his most impactful games of the season to help the Texans take a 26-3 victory. 

He had a handful of pressures, which led to a pair of sacks for the former Alabama prospect. Anderson also played a prominent role in helping the Texans hold the Titans to 53 rushing yards, with Derrick Henry leading the way with 42 yards on 12 carries.

"I am proud of Will," coach DeMeco Ryans said. "He made a lot of impactful plays. Even though he is on a limited snap count, he was still able to affect the quarterback. He is an impact player...I am proud of him and the season he is having."

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Anderson celebrated with his rookie class when the Texans clinched a playoff berth by defeating the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Twenty-four hours later, he re-visited the rookie group chat to celebrate Houston's first AFC South championship title since 2019. 

Anderson and the rest of the 2023 rookie class have revamped the Texans within their first season. But despite accomplishing a significant milestone, bringing relevancy back to Houston is one of several goals the rookie class set in late April.

"We are really proud," Anderson said. "This could not have gotten done if we did not accept the challenge, we placed on each other. With us being rookies and taking that leap and not being scared, we know it was going to lead to the betterment of the organization."