Anderson has proven all he needed to prove with the Crimson Tide, and he’ll be a Day 1 tone-setter in DeMeco Ryans’ defense. The trade with the Cardinals to move up from 12 to 3 is a rich one, and my only hesitation with an A grade is that the Texans might have gone with a player with more upside, such as Jalen Carter or Tyree Wilson. Still, you can’t argue with the back-to-back picks of C.J. Stroud and Anderson. This is a team looking to define its character with two knockout blows.
Height: 6′ 3¾” (47th percentile) Weight: 253 (23rd)
40-Yard Dash: 4.6 (89th)
10-Yard Split: 1.61 (73rd)
Bench Press: N/A
Vertical Jump: N/A
Broad Jump: N/A
3-Cone Drill: N/A
20-Yard Shuttle: N/A
Wingspan: N/A
Arm Length: 33⅞” (63rd)
Hand Size: 9⅞” (50th)
Bio: A consensus four-star prospect out of Dutchtown High in Hampton, Georgia, Anderson chose the Crimson Tide over Auburn, LSU and Tennessee among his nearly 40 offers and got to work early, winning the starting job at Jack linebacker on a defense that doesn’t usually allow freshmen to do such things. Anderson leaves Alabama as the school’s second most productive player in terms of sacks behind only Pro Football Hall of Famer Derrick Thomas.
Over three seasons in Nick Saban’s defense, Anderson totaled 37 sacks, 36 quarterback hits, 134 quarterback hurries, 112 tackles, 109 stops, and one forced fumble. He also allowed an opponent passer rating of 64.4 and had an interception on 13 targets. Anderson had 1,802 snaps outside the tackles, 339 over the tackles, 26 in the B-gaps, 18 in the box, 13 in the slot, and one in the A-gaps.
Stat to Know: Anderson’s 2022 Pressure Share Rate (the percentage of a team’s individual pressures made by the defender) of 25% leads all players on this list.
Strengths: Anderson is so prolific as a bringer of sacks and pressures because he has so many different ways to get to the quarterback. His speed-to-power stuff is probably the primary tool in the box. Once he gears up to full gear and gets that long arm out, you, Mr. Offensive Tackle, are about to have a bad rep.
When he’s zapping you right off the line with his footwork, Anderson almost looks like a receiver in his fakes; he’ll set you up either inside or outside, and then work for the kill with impressive acceleration to the pocket.
Anderson has a natural and practiced ability to jump multiple gaps in conjunction with other linemen, which should make him NFL-ready in any defensive line where stunts and games are the order of the day.
Weaknesses: Anderson’s goose-egg against Tennessee right tackle Darnell Wright will obviously be discussed in NFL buildings, and Wright’s scouting combine breakdown of how he held Anderson at bay was quite revealing.
“During the week, I was just breaking him down, and I picked up on some things I might be able to do on each play,” Wright said. “Pretty standard, like an inside-out set. I knew I could take it very simple. When you break down a guy like Anderson, you know he’s mostly going to be… so, you have categories [for edge-rushers]. You have speed, you have power, and you have finesse. Very rarely do you have someone who’s going to hit all of those categories. So Anderson, he’s speed and power. With him, it’s just different.”
Anderson did try some finesse with Wright, like this little euro-step, but here’s where Anderson’s wingspan disadvantage came into play. He needs to strike the first blow, or he can get enveloped.
Anderson also isn’t the type of edge guy you want to kick inside 20% of the time or more; he can get bulldozed in power situations pretty easily. If gap versatility is what you want most of all in your pass-rusher, you might look elsewhere.
Conclusion: Anderson’s combination of quickness off the snap, acceleration to the pocket, outside power and lean, and closure to the quarterback makes him the best edge defender in this class. How his NFL team deploys him will be fascinating. If you have him on the edge as an end in four-man fronts, or as an “edgebacker” in the NFL’s increasing use of five-man fronts, you can just sit back and watch the pressures roll in.
NFL Comparison: T.J. Watt. The Steelers selected J.J. Watt’s younger brother with the 30th pick in the 2017 draft because Watt had just one full season of production to project to the next level. But Watt has become an absolute terror on the outside because of his technical palette, gap-moving athleticism, quickness to the pocket, and speed/power conversions. It is not unreasonable to assume that Anderson will have a similar level of success.
