The Houston Texans made a shocking trade up in the 2023 NFL Draft to land Alabama's Will Anderson Jr. With Anderson now in Houston, head coach DeMeco Ryans is excited to unleash him on the Texans.
Houston, who also held the No. 2 overall pick, made a deal with the Arizona Cardinals to also acquire No. 3; where they took Anderson. For all the excitement around Anderson, Ryans isn't looking for him to change anything even though he's in the NFL with the Texans now, via Brooks Kubena of the Houston Chronicle.
“Just be Will Anderson,” Ryans said. “He's going to be the best version of himself, and that's going to be good enough for this team.”
With their second overall pick, Houston addressed their longstanding quarterback issue with C.J. Stroud. However, the Texans just couldn't leave the 2023 NFL Draft without Will Anderson Jr. While it cost them the No. 12 overall pick this year as a first-round pick next year, Ryans and the Texans couldn't be happier with their draft haul.
Anderson spent three years in Alabama, appearing in 41 games. He racked up 204 tackles – 58.5 for a loss – and 34.5 sacks. The outside linebacker won a National Championship in 2020 and was a two-time Bronco Nagurski award winner, given to the nation's best defensive player.
The Texans were in serious need of a defensive jolt. Houston finished 29th in total defense, allowing 379.5 yards per game. Their run defense was the worst in the league, allowing 170.2 yards per game on the ground.
Anderson will certainly help remedy the Texans' defensive issues. But DeMeco Ryans isn't looking for Anderson to change who he is as a player as he joins the NFL.
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