
Will Anderson Jr and Danielle Hunter gonna hunt
Remember when the Houston Texans turned in the draft card for J.J. Watt and we all got excited about him and Mario Williams combining to terrorize opponents? Didn’t happen.
Remember Jadeveon Clowney heading to H-Town to join Watt as the bookend of what should have been an historically potent pass rush? Also never materialized.
But last year we got to see what we’ve been waiting for all these years:
Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter.
Last season Anderson Jr played in 14 games, had 37 combined tackles, 27 solo stops, 16 tackles for loss, 19 QB hits, 11 sacks and 1 forced fumble.
VIDEO: #Texans superstar pass rusher Danielle Hunter looks JACKED and is looking scary.
Hunter has been working with pass rush specialist Brandon Jordan.
Danielle was a Pro Bowler and had 12 sacks for Houston last season.
( @CoachBTJordan)
pic.twitter.com/5Xu0PUCnBg— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) June 30, 2025
Meanwhile, Hunter played in 17 games, had 46 combined tackles, 31 solo stops, 17 tackles for loss, 23 QB hits, 12 sacks, 3 passes knocked down and 1 forced fumble.
Both are career-high seasons for the pass rushers. And, good enough to land them both on the NFL’s top ten edge rushers list.
ESPN’s @JFowlerESPN had executives, scouts and coaches rank the top edge rushers in the NFL:
1. Myles Garrett
2. T.J. Watt
3. Micah Parsons
4. Maxx Crosby
5. Nick Bosa
6. Trey Hendrickson
7. Aidan Hutchinson
8. Will Anderson Jr.
9. Danielle Hunter
10. Jared VerseThe… pic.twitter.com/zz5c29dFwu
— Nick Schwager (@NickSchwagerNFL) July 9, 2025
Nick Schwager
The Texans are the only team to have 2 players on this list.
With a shared season under their collective belt, this duo is already giving the other AFC South defensive coordinators nightmares. Another year of chemistry, another year of camaraderie, another year of instinctively knowing where the other will be when the play breaks down.
And, don’t forget, the edge rushers best friend (the secondary) is rock solid on the Texans D. With Derek Stingley Jr., Kamari Lassiter, Calen Bullock and C.J. Gardener-Johson clogging up the route trees, opposing quarterbacks will have to hold the ball longer. Bigger pre-pass windows mean more QB hits, sacks, tackles for loss, interceptions and strip sacks.
While so many have been focused on the Houston Texans offensive line, Anderson and Hunter have been quietly cementing a defensive front that can take this team all the way.
Danielle Hunter on the Texans DL:
“We call ourselves the engine. You know you got a car & the car don’t move without the engine… we look at this DL as the engine of the team.” pic.twitter.com/ZonuGffsBP
— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) June 12, 2025
Gentlemen, start your engines!