With every passing week of the 2024 NFL season, it becomes more and more clear — the future cornerstones for the Houston Texans over the next decade are C.J. Stroud on offense and Will Anderson on defense. This is precisely the way the Texans drew it up on draft night 2023, when they selected Stroud with the second overall pick and traded up for Anderson at the third overall pick.
Accolades continue to roll in for both, further validating the Texans plan. The latest? Will Anderson, Jr. was named the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Month for October 2024:
Anderson was a monster all month long, as he led the team to a 3-1 record and a multiple game lead in the AFC South race. It’s the team’s best start since 2012. For the month, Anderson notched 17 tackles, including an NFL-high seven tackles for loss, five sacks, one pass defensed that resulted in an interception by Eric Murray, and one fumble recovery that sealed a 23-20 win over the Colts in Week 8.
Anderson recorded at least one sack in the last three contests for the month of October, showing a consistency that is indicative of an ascending player in his second season. The best week in October for Anderson was a Week 6 performance against the Patriots that featured the following stat line: four tackles for loss, three sacks and a pass defensed. For that performance, Anderson was honored as AFC Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career.
For the Texans, it’s their first Defensive Player of the Month honor since J.J. Watt won it in September of 2018, coming off of a broken leg the year before. Anderson is the sixth player to win monthly defensive honors in team history, joining Marcus Coleman, Connor Barwin, Whitney Mercilus, Quintin Demps, all wining it once, along with Watt, who won it six times in his Texans career.
LIST OF TEXANS AFC PLAYER OF THE MONTH AWARD WINNERS
Will Anderson Jr., Defensive, October 2024
C.J. Stroud, Offensive, November, 2023
Deshaun Watson, Offensive, October 2019
Ka’imi Fairbairn, Special Teams, December 2018
J.J. Watt, Defensive, September 2018
Deshaun Watson, Offensive, October 2017
Quintin Demps, Defensive, December 2016
Whitney Mercilus, Defensive, December 2015
J.J. Watt, Defensive, November 2015
J.J. Watt, Defensive, December 2014
J.J. Watt, Defensive, September 2014
J.J. Watt, Defensive, December 2012
Andre Johnson, Offensive, November 2012
J.J. Watt, Defensive, September 2012
Connor Barwin, Defensive, November 2011
Arian Foster, Offensive, October 2011
Arian Foster, Offensive, September 2010
Andre Johnson, Offensive, October 2008
Marcus Coleman, Defensive, September 2003
Chad Stanley, Special Teams, September 2002
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
