The Houston Texans earned another award at NFL Honors after defensive end Will Anderson Jr. took home the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award.
Anderson became the third Texans player to win the award after his head coach, DeMeco Ryans, won in 2006 and linebacker Brian Cushing won in 2006.
Another @HoustonTexans Rookie of the Year!@will_anderson28 takes home DROY 💪
📺: #NFLHonors on CBS & NFLN
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/AS5a6Tm6vV— NFL (@NFL) February 9, 2024
He edged out Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter for the award after Anderson earned 151 points (16 first-place votes, 21 second-place votes and eight third-place votes.
Here’s how the rest of the voting broke down for the top four, via the Associated Press’ Rob Maaddi:
- Carter: 122 points (14 first-place votes, 14 second-place votes and 10 third-place votes)
- Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Kobie Turner (95 points)
- Seattle Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon (57 points)
AP Defensive Rookie of the Year
Will Anderson 16-21-8 = 151
Jalen Carter 14-14-10 = 122
Kobie Turner 14-6-7 = 95
Devon Witherspoon 4-7-16 = 57
Joey Porter Jr. 1-0-1 = 6
YaYa Diaby 1-0-1 = 6
Brian Branch 0-0-6 = 6
Jack Campbell 0-1-0 = 3
Byron Young…— Rob Maaddi (@RobMaaddi) February 9, 2024
The edge rusher set a franchise record for most sacks by a rookie with seven this season. Anderson’s mark also ranked second among all rookies in 2023. He finished the year with 10 tackles for a loss (tied for first among rookies this season) and 22 quarterback hits (first among rookies this season).
The Texans traded up to take Anderson at No. 3 overall in the 2023 NFL draft – just one pick after quarterback C.J. Stroud, who also won Offensive Rookie of the Year. They became the third-ever rookie duo from the same team to win both awards following Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner with the New York Jets in 2022 and Alvin Kamara and Marshon Lattimore with the New Orleans Saints in 2017.
The investment in Anderson proved fruitful immediately when Anderson registered his first sack in a Week 1 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. While he had stretches without sacks this year, Anderson also finished with two multi-sack games – first against the Denver Broncos in Week 13 and then against the Tennessee Titans in Week 17. He added a sack in the Texans’ win over the Cleveland Browns in the wild card round, too.
Houston built a solid foundation with Stroud and Anderson on either side of the ball. Both proved to be among the best young players at their respective positions and should be key pieces for the Texans’ immediate and long-term future under Ryans.