No other team in the NFL had two players in the top 10 in sacks last year and according to ESPN’s projections of the top 50 sack leaders for this season, the Houston Texans will come close to doing it again this year with Anderson projected as being No. 3 on the sack list and Hunter at No. 12.
Last season, Danielle Hunter had 15 sacks while Will Anderson had 12 sacks. ESPN is projecting Anderson to have a slight decrease in sacks this year with 10.5 sacks and Hunter to take a bigger step back in sacks with around 8.5 sacks.
“Anderson emerged as truly elite in 2025, finishing second in Defensive Player of the Year voting to go along with his 12 sacks," ESPN's Seth Walder wrote. "There's no reason to expect a drop-off this season."
Anderson has proved
himself the past two seasons in terms of sacks and pass-rush win rate, is young and on a relatively good team (the Texans' win total at DraftKings is 9.5, shaded to the over) with a particularly good defense. He and Danielle Hunter (8.7 projected sacks, 12th most) make up arguably the NFL's most fearsome pass-rushing duo.
Plus, the Texans get the additional bonus of facing a sack-friendly schedule of quarterbacks that includes games against Lamar Jackson (9.8% sack rate), Justin Herbert (8.8%), Jaxson Dart (8.5%) and Cam Ward (9.4%) twice.”
Having a sack-friendly schedule not only benefits Anderson but also Hunter. With this schedule, it seems unlikely that Hunter will have only 8.5 sacks, as he hasn't had fewer than 10 in a season since 2021. And that year, he only played in seven games.
Anderson’s projection, however, seems right on par. There are three playmakers on Houston’s defensive line - Anderson, Hunter and Jadeveon Clowney - and it would not be surprising to see Anderson’s sack numbers go down a little because Clowney is getting those sacks instead.
Clowney actually could have made this list. The No. 50 player on this list is only projected to have 5.5 sacks and Clowney topped that last year with the Dallas Cowboys with 8.5. Houston’s defense can only get so many sacks in a game, but it would not be surprising for all three defenders to finish top 25 among sack leaders.
Based on ESPN’s sack projections, that would mean each player would need at least seven sacks.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: How many sacks does ESPN predict Texans DEs Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter will have?
