Back from ankle injury, healthy Texans pass rusher Will Anderson Jr. heads into Colts game with ‘a lot more confidence’

HOUSTON – The last time that Texans Pro Bowl defensive end Will Anderson Jr. lined up against the Indianapolis Colts’ blockers, he didn’t feel quite like himself.

That’s because he wasn’t fully recovered from an ankle injury suffered last season against the New York Jets as he returned for a regular-season finale victory that clinched the AFC South division title.

A year later, Anderson is determined to show what he’s capable of Sunday in a road season opener against the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and former Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year from Alabama returned to practice Wednesday after missing the majority of the preseason with a different ankle injury.

“Of course, of course, of course,” Anderson replied when asked if he would definitely play Sunday. “It felt really good being around the team again. Last week, it started a little bit. I missed the guys a lot. Just been trying to get right. It’s been exciting.”

It’s obvious that Anderson has made steady progress in his recovery. He’s moving better than last week when he was jogging slowly and not practicing. The team had been taking it slow with Anderson as a precautionary measure, but he’s doing well and has been running and working out with trainers during practice sessions on the side.

Now, it’s time for Anderson to show what he can do against a division rival and play in altogether different, aggressive mode lining up opposite Pro Bowl defensive end Danielle Hunter.

Last year’s game didn’t feel right to Anderson weeks removed from being in a walking boot after injuring his ankle on the cold, wet, hard artificial turf at Met Life Stadium in December.

“I couldn’t even do what I wanted to do, but I was still out there,” Anderson said. “It’s going to feel different. Watching the film now, I get so mad. I couldn’t even do what I wanted to do, but I was still out there. There’s going to be a lot more confidence going into the game, knowing that I’m healthy, knowing that I’m good this year.”

Selected third overall last season, the former Bronko Nagurski award winner recorded seven sacks and had 22 quarterback hits and 64 pressures as he became the third player in franchise history to be named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year as he joined the fraternity of Brian Cushing and coach DeMeco Ryans.

The focus that Anderson has on the season ahead is something reinforced by Ryans.

“DeMeco had put something up in the team room about zooming in and zooming out,” Anderson said. “Right now, I’m just in my zoom out part. Just looking at the bigger picture, trying to get myself ready for the whole season and the 18 weeks that we have coming up. Now that I’m back, I can zoom back in on the details of my job and be a great leader and be a great captain, just be a great teammate, overall.”

Anderson Jr. planned ahead for this season by adding 15 pounds of muscle through a regiment of increased healthy calories and weightlifting to bulk up to 263 pounds. The former Alabama consensus All-American played at roughly 248 pounds after being selected third overall last season. By the end of the year, he was crowned as the top defensive rookie and named to the Pro Bowl.

Unsatisfied, though, an uncomplacent Anderson wasn’t pleased with how things unfolded in a playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC divisional round. In that loss, he was held to one tackle for a loss and one hit on quarterback Lamar Jackson after recording a sack on Joe Flacco the previous week in an AFC wild-card game victory over the Cleveland Browns.

“By the time we got to the Ravens game, I was just like, I just can’t last,” Anderson said. “I feel like I was getting tossed around, so I kind of bulked up a little this offseason. I did keep my speed. I feel good. Some people still say I don’t even look big.”

Big is relative in the NFL, but Anderson definitely plays big. He was dominant at times as a rookie. The former Bednarik and Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year award winner played 63 percent of the defensive snaps as an instant starter and team captain, which he was selected for again this season. He finished the season with 45 tackles and 10 tackles for losses.

The speed. The moves. The relentless style. None of that has changed a bit for Anderson. There’s just more of the Georgia native now.

“Oh, way more comfortable,” Anderson said. “Knowing the scheme better, knowing what to expect a little bit more, knowing what’s going to happen, it gives you more confidence. We have a really good D-line room. It’s a bunch of dawgs, a bunch of savages and we do a good job of feeding off of each other.”

During a locker room interview, Anderson demonstrated what it’s like to play opposite Hunter, who had 16 1/2 sacks last season for the Minnesota Vikings before the Morton Ranch graduate signed a two-year, $51 million free agent deal with the hometown Texans.

Anderson touched his closed fists together to display him and Hunter knocking into each other in pursuit of the quarterback.

“It’s funny,” Anderson said. “Sometimes, we’ll meet and run into the quarterback. Hopefully, you’ll see a little bit more of that. We have the same expectation. That’s why I’m here. That’s why he’s here. He’s been teaching me. I’ve been learning so much from him. To have the opportunity to play with someone like that, teams have to make a choice. I’m really excit4ed to play alongside him. He’s going to wreak havoc.”

That’s how Ryans envisions the pass-rushing tandem operating: relentlessly penetrating the line of scrimmage and getting after quarterbacks..

“With Danielle and Will, what excites me is their potential to wreak havoc,” Ryans said. “In any passing situations, their ability to disrupt the pocket, disrupt the quarterback, that’s what excites me. If we want to play really good on defense when they’re passing the football, those two guys have to impact the game for us. If they show up and impact the game, it’ll be easier for our guys on the back end.”

Playing against multidimensional Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson, one of the biggest and fastest dual-threat passers in the NFL and a former opponent of Anderson’s in the Southeastern Conference as a first-round draft pick who shined for the Florida Gators, represents a challenge for the Texans’ revamped defense. Anderson rushed for two touchdowns last season against the Texans before leaving the game with a concussion.

“If you think, you stink,” Anderson said. “Our defense is an attack defense. There won’t be any slowing down. There won’t be any guessing. There won’t be any thinking. We’re going to attack.”

Anderson has established an extremely high standard. And, yes, he’s tough on himself to play to his own weighty expectations.

“I think Will is very hard on himself,” defensive coordinator Matt Burke said. " We never want guys to get too big to where they can’t be good at where they are at. If Will is 400 pounds, that doesn’t help him. As long as he can still be explosive and move the way we ask him to move, then the heavier you are that obviously creates more power, more impact. I think he has done a really good job of just staying lean. He has always been such a powerful lower half guy.

“I think he is seeing some development in his upper body that is maybe going to help put that strength on for him a little bit. So, he has had a good start to camp, it is showing. Again, he is still moving the way we want him to move and being able to carry that extra weight. Sometimes guys put on weight, and they stop being as fast or as explosive. So, for him to be able to carry that extra weight and still be powerful and explosive that is hopefully going to pay dividends in the season.”

NOTE: Just one player is listed on the Texans’ injury report: safety M.J. Stewart. Stewart didn’t practice due to a quadriceps-knee injury and is potentially out for a few games, per a league source.

So, the Texans head into Sunday’s season-opener relatively healthy.

“Yeah, really excited about this week,” Ryans said. “Excited to prepare for the Colts, big-time matchup for us, so we’re really looking forward to it. Had a really good day of work today. All of our guys are out there, available, working, excited about the work that we put in today.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.