Diante Lee joins Football 301 to discuss his top NFL defenders, including putting Texans‘ defensive end Will Anderson Jr. at the top of his list. (via Football 301)
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Video Transcript
But I’m gonna take Will Anderson Jr. with my first overall pick.
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Like, you guys don’t see it, you don’t get it, you haven’t watched closely enough.
And this is not to say that right now he is better than Myles Garrett, or right now his resume is better than Michael Parsons or, you know, some of the other edge rushers that we probably would consider within the top three picks.
But if you’re asking me what kind of impact he’s going to have in 2026 specifically, coming off the year he just had, where I think you can make an argument that he was the best run defender at his position in the league.
You- you’re really starting to see the explosion in sack production.
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12 sacks last year, set a new career high mark, right?
You look at the QB hit rate every year it’s been in the 90th percentile or better.
Like, he checks every box.
From the moment that pick was made, you knew that not only was DeMeco Ryans gonna run a good defense, but that defense would look exactly like how Will Anderson plays.
That’s what you see from him on a week-to-week basis, and I’d have a hard time believing he’s gonna be any worse than the third-best player on the defensive side of the ball, basically irrespective of position, in my opinion, in 2026.