Will
Anderson Jr.
DE
#51
Will Anderson Jr.
#51DE
Houston Texans
Height : 6' 4" · Weight : 243 lbs · Age : 25
NFL record
| Year | Team | GP | TOT | SOLO | AST | SACK | FF | FR | YDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Houston Texans | 3 | 18 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | Houston Texans | 17 | 54 | 35 | 19 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 2024 | Houston Texans | 14 | 37 | 27 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | Houston Texans | 15 | 45 | 29 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Contract
Houston Texans payroll →- 2026 cap number
- 13.20 M$
- Average per year
- 50.00 M$
- Total value
- 150.0 M$
- Seasons left
- 5 · through 2030
2026
13.20 M$
Guaranteed
2027
28.32 M$
Guaranteed
2028
46.40 M$
Guaranteed
2029
46.40 M$
Partially guaranteed
2030
48.40 M$
Not guaranteed
Cap number: the season's salary plus the share of the signing bonus spread over the contract. Total value and average per year cover the whole contract, from its signing.
Advanced stats, 2026 Edge rushers
NFL stats →2026 season, in progress (3 games played). The percentile ranks the player among regular edge rushers: 90th means better than 90% of them.
Sacks
4.0
96th percentile
Pressures
7
70th percentile
QB hits
6
82th percentile
Tackles for loss
6
96th percentile
Tackles
17
99th percentile
Forced fumbles
1
81th percentile
Passes defended
1
81th percentile
Missed tackle rate
—
Defensive snaps
155
74th percentile
Games
3
Regular season. Data: nflverse (play-by-play, snap counts), Next Gen Stats, Pro Football Reference. EPA: expected points added. CPOE: completion percentage over expected.
2026 end-of-season projection
NFL trends →Projected WAR
0.7
Games
17
WAR 2026
0.2
Games played
3
WAR already earned, plus his pace (WAR per game over the last three seasons, 60/25/15, pulled toward the group average) over his team's remaining games, given his availability so far.
Trend
→ Stable (+1)
- 20230.3 WAR · 0.020 per game
- 20240.4 WAR · 0.029 per game
- 20250.9 WAR · 0.053 per game
- 20260.2 WAR · 0.067 per game
The trend compares this season's WAR per game with last season's, weighted by games played.
Outlook, age included
+26 · 24 y.o. · usually still improving
It is only a projection. It knows nothing about injuries, trades or role changes.
Player ratings, 2026
All ratings →Ratings from 0 to 100, computed over four seasons from data, never by hand, against regulars in the same position group. 75 = established regular, 87 = 90th percentile, 95+ = elite.
OV · Overall
91
Star
- PRS
- Pass rush
- 87
- RDF
- Run defense
- 95
- TCK
- Tackling
- 87
- DUR
- Durability
- 75
- EX
- Experience
- 50
Why these ratings?Hide details
- PRS — Pass rush : Pressures, sacks and QB hits, per snap
- RDF — Run defense : Run tackles and tackles for loss, per snap
- TCK — Tackling : Tackles made and missed tackles
- DUR — Durability : Games played out of his team's, over several seasons
- EX — Experience : Seasons in the NFL
WAR and PAL Rating, 2026
How we rate →WAR: the EPA (expected points added) of every play, above replacement level, shared among those who made it, then converted to wins (35.3 points = one win). PAL Rating scores performance from 0 to 100 against regulars in the same group (50 = median).
WAR
0.2
#1 of 36 regular edge rushers
PAL Rating
96 / 100
#2 of 36 regular edge rushers
Value Rating · 2025
91 / 100
2025 PAL (97) against 2026 salary: the contract's average per year (APY), $50.0M.PAL expected for this salary: 86PAL: dimensions
Where WAR comes from (in wins)
Half the EPA of his sacks, interceptions, passes defended, forced fumbles, tackles for loss and QB hits, against his position's average per snap.
Yards allowed per target against his position's average, 0.12 points per yard (measured).
Replacement level: the share of defense the league spends on his position (by payroll), prorated by snaps.
How much better or worse than average his team's defense was (EPA allowed), minus what is already credited to players, prorated by snaps.
The individual part is splash plays and coverage. The rest is the position share and his team's defense, split by snaps played.
| Season | Team | G | WAR | PAL | OV | Sacks | Prss | TFL | Tkl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | HOU | 3 | 0.2 | 96 | 91 | 4.0 | 7 | 6 | 17 |
| 2025 | HOU | 17 | 0.9 | 97 | 90 | 12.0 | 36 | 20 | 50 |
| 2024 | HOU | 14 | 0.4 | 95 | 85 | 11.0 | 29 | 16 | 33 |
| 2023 | HOU | 15 | 0.3 | 72 | 80 | 7.0 | 32 | 9 | 37 |
Will Anderson Jr. in five questions
What are Will Anderson Jr.'s stats in 2026?
Will Anderson Jr. has 4 sacks and 6 QB hits in 3 games in 2026.
How old and how tall is Will Anderson Jr.?
Will Anderson Jr. is 25 years old. He is 6'4" (193 cm) and weighs 243 lb (110 kg).
How good is Will Anderson Jr.?
Will Anderson Jr. produced 0.2 wins above replacement (WAR) in 2026 (season in progress), 2nd of 36 players at his position in the NFL. His PAL rating is 96 out of 100: elite for his position.
What number does Will Anderson Jr. wear, and what team does he play for?
Will Anderson Jr. plays for Houston Texans in the NFL, at DE, and wears number 51.
What is Will Anderson Jr.'s projection for 2026?
Our projection has him at 0.7 WAR over the full 2026 season, based on his weighted recent seasons and age.
