The Houston Texans might feature one of the best one-two punches of pass rushers in the NFL next season.
After trading up in the 2023 NFL Draft for Will Anderson Jr. last year, the Texans made a big splash in free agency this March, signing Danielle Hunter to a two-year, $49 million contract — and that has Anderson pretty tickled.
“I’m very excited,” Anderson told Aaron Wilson of Houston’s KPCR2. “… I was jumping up and down, man, because I was so excited …
“It’s really exciting. He’s a great guy. He loves football, man. I can’t wait to go out there and (wreak) havoc with him.”
Anderson and Hunter share the same agency, the LA-based Klutch Sports Group, and they first met at the Pro Bowl, which led to a dinner between the two eventual teammates. After Hunter signed with the Texans, the pair spent more time together.
In 15 games (13 starts), Anderson — the No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 draft — totaled 45 tackles (10 for losses), seven sacks and 22 QB hits. That earned him Defensive Rookie of the Year honors last season. Anderson was second on the Texans in sacks, forming a pretty good pair with Jonathan Greenard (12.5 sacks) last season.
Greenard actually signed with the Vikings after Hunter left. But Anderson believes his new pairing with Hunter, who had 16.5 sacks and led the NFL in tackles for loss (23) last season, will be even more impactful.
“Now teams, they’ve gotta choose who they’re gonna double-team,” Anderson said.
The Texans have had a busy offseason so far beyond the Hunter signing. They’ve traded for Joe Mixon, added other pieces to the defense and kept some of their own free agents. Anderson said he signs off on those moves, too.
“Yeah, I was very excited about it,” Hunter said. “I think the pieces they got were perfect pieces to the puzzle. Guys that’s hungry, guys that love football, guys that don’t really care about being a celebrity or anything like that. They just want to go out there and ball for the city and ball for themselves and their families.”
Following a 10-7 season and a playoff victory over the Browns, Anderson doesn’t believe it’s any time for Houston to slow down the momentum.
“Always. Nothing changes,” he said. “It’s no time to be comfortable, no time to be relaxed. Always on edge. There’s so much more that we have to do as a team to accomplish. So I’m very excited about that as well.”
