After winning the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award for 2023, Houston Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. increased his sack total by 6.5 in his second season.

The task for Anderson and the Texans in 2025 is to keep climbing.

“I think with Will, like a lot of these guys we’re talking about, the effort and the energy and the intensity are never going to be an issue,” Houston defensive coordinator Matt Burke said on Friday. “And so I think the challenge we put to Will is to fine-tune the details, and ‘What does it take to go from good to great to elite to the best?’ And as he’s climbing that ladder, it gets harder and harder to make those steps up those rungs. We know he’s a good player, a great player. Now how do we keep climbing and fine-tuning to become even better?

“And he’s on a mission. He actually dropped a move today in the pass-rush setting that was a new move for him that he executed really well. It was really cool to see. So he’s just really trying to work on a lot of details to really climb that ladder to be the best.”

Anderson said he had gotten the same message from Texans coach DeMeco Ryans.

“DeMeco pulled me to the side and was like, ‘You know, now it’s just fine-tuning those little things in your game,’” Anderson said. “Like, how precise can you be? How good can you be at taking the next step? And for me, it’s just like when I’m on a block, using my hands better, getting off blocks, my escape when I’m rushing the passer. Like, am I reaching with precision on the quarterback? Can I get some strip sacks? Stuff like that. So, like, those are the things I want to work on this offseason, this time during OTAs and really just getting precise at those things and taking my game to the next level.”

After becoming a two-time unanimous All-American at Alabama, Anderson joined the Texans as the third selection in the 2023 NFL Draft. He had seven sacks in the regular season and another in the playoffs as a rookie. In 2024, Anderson had 11 regular-season sacks and 3.5 in the playoffs.

Only one of those has been a strip sack.

“My coach, he’s done a phenomenal job — Coach Rod (Wright),” Anderson said. “He’s done great just putting together a whole presentation for us of all the sacks that we missed, the missed opportunities that we could have had, hitting the ball the wrong way, hitting the elbow the wrong way, reaching too high and getting a penalty. Stuff like that.

“So, like, we left a lot of sacks out on the table, and that’s what I’m talking about, going back to being precise. Like, how good can you be at the process of attacking the throwing arm? How good can you be at taking the ball away, getting the strip sack, picking it up, taking it to the crib? So, like, those are the things that we want to start putting into our bag and finesse moves and stuff like that, taking our game to the next level, especially for me.”

In both of Anderson’s seasons, Houston has lost in the second round of the playoffs. That’s another area where Anderson wants to climb to higher rungs.

“Now that we’ve been in some of these big games, man, we know what it takes to be there,” Anderson said. “And it’s about execution. It’s about locking in and playing one game at a time and really everybody doing their job at the highest level possible.”

The Texans start the second of their three weeks of Organized Team Activities on Tuesday. Houston’s final workout of the offseason is scheduled for June 11.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.