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Will Anderson Jr. 2026 Fantasy Football Outlook: Potential Defensive Player of the Year
Myles Garrett broke the NFL's single-season sack record last year and deservedly won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year... but it was Will Anderson Jr. who led the NFL in quarterback pressures, pass rush win rate, and pressure rate. In fact, Anderson's pressure rate last year (19.3%) was significantly better than Garrett's (16.6%), plus Anderson registered 43% more quarterback hurries than the Defensive Player of the Year. None of this is to say Anderson is the better player, as Garrett has a much longer resume and he's converted pressures into sacks at a much higher rate so far. However, Anderson's current cost in fantasy drafts is over 30 picks later than Garrett, who is being drafted as the top defender in IDP redrafts. When you consider how much cheaper Anderson is to acquire and the fact his advanced metrics are even better than Garrett's, the argument for waiting to draft your DL grows strong. Then there is the icing on the cake: Anderson plays on the best defense in the NFL with elite cornerbacks that will continue to give him time. That just makes the decision to wait for Anderson an easy one to make.
