The Houston Texans trading four picks to draft Will Anderson Jr. is a bet that paid huge dividends. The AFC South team acquired a defensive cornerstone who became a Pro Bowler during his rookie season. Likewise, Pro Football Focus quantified his excellence by giving him 85.1, the tenth-highest overall grade among edge rushers last season.
However, as talented Anderson is, he’s still a young stud who could use some help. Without it, the Texans won’t finish fourth in sacks (49) last season, trailing the Denver Broncos, Baltimore Ravens, and Dallas Cowboys.
Danielle Hunter is one of those players who have imparted an invaluable impact to the former Alabama standout. In describing what Hunter meant for his game’s evolution, Anderson might have christened a nickname for their tandem: Fire and Ice
Speaking with Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison on the Football Night in America Podcast, Will Anderson Jr. say about Hunter’s impact to him, “We’re like fire and ice. Me, I’m all emotions. So, sometimes, when I get too amped up, I look at him and he just cools me down like ‘Bro, Will, it’s gonna be okay, man.’ I’m not worried about it. It’s gonna come and that’s one thing that he’s been able to help me with is to just enjoy my process and know that it’s going to come and just keep being myself and keep being a humble guy.”
After spending nine seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, Hunter signed a two-year, $49 million contract with the Texans. In the first season of that deal, the veteran defensive end had 12 sacks and 46 tackles in 17 games.
Hunter Earns His Keep as a Player and a Mentor to Will Anderson Jr.
With only one year left in his contract, the Texans rewarded Hunter with a one-year, $35.6 million contract extension. That value ranks him second among highest-paid defensive ends behind Myles Garrett. It’s a fantastic investment, though, because Hunter isn’t just delivering value on the football field. Instead, he took Will Anderson Jr. under his wing and taught him an important lesson.
In a YouTube video uploaded by The Forward Times staff writer Terrance Turner, Hunter revealed what made him and Anderson work well as a duo. The five-time Pro Bowler said, “I feel like the biggest thing is just keep all the doors out. There’s so much distraction and where I was raised coming into this league, you just gotta lock on. I’m trying to teach him that people are going to be talking. They’re going to distract you. The biggest thing is to have tunnel vision.”
Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter finished the 2024 season with 23 combined sacks, the most among defensive end duos. Likewise, their sack total ranks second among edge rushing duos, behind Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper’s 24.
Meanwhile, Hunter’s 2024 total amounts to his sixth double-digit sack season in the league and third consecutive since 2022.
Anderson Credits the Texans Veterans for Building Confidence
By his second NFL season, Anderson was playing with older defensive lineman like Hunter, Denico Autry, Derek Barnett, Mario Edwards Jr., and Folorunso Fatukasi, among others. Luckily for him, these players knew who the leader of the defensive front was.
Anderson shared with Dungy and Harrison, “The older guys, the vets that’s been helping me along the way. They just been bringing confidence into me. … I was scared because my second year, I was in a way much older room that I was my rookie year. … I don’t know how I’m going to be a leader to these guys. But the thing that I respect about them is they see how hard I work and they were open to me, helping them learn the defense, how to do things the right way in our front.”
Being comfortable with his role should scare opposing teams when they face Will Anderson Jr. More importantly, he will have some motivation to elevate his game this season because he will be eligible for a contract extension after 2025.
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