The Houston Texans put together a strong season, but it wasn’t what they were wanting. It all ended at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Despite the loss, the future is still very bright for the Texans. They have C.J. Stroud, one of the best young quarterbacks in the game, and they have a lot of top-tier young talent throughout the roster.

One of those impressive young players is defensive end Will Anderson Jr.

Anderson is coming off of a big second season in Houston. He racked up 37 tackles, 11 sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and two defended passes in 14 games. If he had play the other three games, those numbers could have been even better.

Following the season, Anderson spoke out and offered a very bold statement about the future for the Texans. He believes that the team is built to win, but that they need to execute better.

“We’ve got to execute better,” Anderson said. “We’ve got all the right pieces, we’ve got all the right people in the building, they’re going to keep bringing in great guys, but as players — as much as you want to look at coaching — as players, we’ve got to take it upon ourselves: How are we sacrificing our time, how are we watching film together, what are we doing to make sure that we’re getting enough out of the day to be ready for Sunday, to get ready for these big games.”

Those comments should actually excite the Houston fan base. Anderson truly believes that the team can win it all and they showed flashes of that potential throughout the season.

Having an elite young quarterback, multiple young stars on defense, and plenty of talent around them will give them a chance. They still need to bring in some outside talent, but they’re not far off.

Hopefully, the 2025 season ends up taking them another step further.

In order to take that step, the Texans will need to answer some questions. They need more wide receiver talent and they could use an improved offensive line. Both of those things can be found during the offseason.

All of that being said, it will be interesting to see what the offseason has in store. Anderson is displaying great leadership and ideally he will be able to help lead Houston to more success in 2025.