2023 NFL Draft Profile: EDGE Rusher Will Anderson Jr.

Edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. has established himself as the top non-quarterback prospect in the 2023 NFL Draft. Here is his profile.

Will Anderson Jr. has been on a crash course to NFL stardom for years. He was a five-star recruit out of high school. Then he became an impactful member of the Alabama Crimson Tide. Now, as the 2023 NFL Draft is quickly nearing, he is one of the top prospects on the board.

In fact, Anderson is the top non-quarterback prospect in the draft. He was on the Freshman SEC All-Conference team. Then he won the Bronco Nagurski Award, given to the top defender in the nation, the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, and an All-American first-team designation in back-to-back seasons.

NFL teams are now salivating for a chance to have him play on their defense.

At 6-foot-3.5 and weighing 253 pounds, some view him as a little undersized. However, he has plenty of tools to succeed. He compares favorably to Von Miller, another supposedly undersized player.

Strengths

Anderson’s arm length is nearly 34 inches so he can use those arms to bat down balls. He gets off the snap quickly and gets into the backfield effectively. In addition, he has the strength to throw blockers out of the way and has the moves to make an impact inside as well as outside. That ability helped him record an amazing 62 tackles for loss in his college career.

In addition, he has great pursuit speed to catch up to the ball carrier from the backside. His speed and athleticism, along with his variety of moves helped him be a quarterback’s nightmare. In his three years at Alabama, he had 98 hurries and 29 sacks.

Sometimes when a player has all the tools that Anderson has it seems like things are too easy for him. You might see him take a play or two off. You don’t see that with Anderson, though. He plays with a high motor during every minute of every game. He plays a physical and relentless game.

Areas of improvement

While Anderson is an elite prospect, there are still areas he could improve.

There are times when Anderson pops up too quickly. That negatively affects his explosiveness. Additionally, with him being up so quickly he isn’t able to bend and make himself skinny. Furthermore, he isn’t able to sink his hips so he can create leverage.

Anderson could also improve his hand usage. He sometimes fails to properly get his hands in quickly enough to drive his power. As a result, he can get locked in one-on-one. He tries to use his momentum to rush the blocker but without proper hand usage, he doesn’t have the proper balance.

Projection

Based on positional value, Anderson should be the top prospect in the 2023 NFL Draft. He has incredible speed and quickness as well as a number of moves to become an elite pass rusher in the NFL.

However, with teams valuing the quarterback spot so much, he won’t be the first one picked. Still, he will likely be a top-five pick. He could go to the Arizona Cardinals, who have the third pick.

Of course, other teams could trade to move up and grab a quarterback. However, it should not take too long before he hears his name called.