HOUSTON – Houston Texans DE Will Anderson Jr*.* and CB Derek Stingley Jr. have been named Associated Press First Team All-Pro with DE Danielle Hunter earning Associated Press Second Team All-Pro honors, the Associated Press announced today.
This marks the first time two Texans have earned Associated Press First Team All-Pro in the same season since WR DeAndre Hopkins and DE J.J. Watt did so in 2018. It's also the first time the Texans have had three players on the Associated Press All-Pro team since DE Jadeveon Clowney, LB Benardrick McKinney and LB Whitney Mercilus each earned second team honors in 2016.
Stingley is the only cornerback in franchise history to earn Associated Press First Team All-Pro honors while Anderson joins Watt and Stingley as the only three defensive players in team history to garner the award. Anderson and Hunter become the first edge duo since 2010 (Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora) to each receive AP All-Pro honors in the same season.
Stingley was named Associated Press First Team All-Pro for the second consecutive year, joining WRs Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins and DE J.J. Watt as the only players in franchise history to earn AP First TeamAll-Pro honors in back-to-back seasons. The fourth-year corner started all 17 games for the Texans and totaled 36 tackles, 15 passes defensed and four interceptions for a defense that finished the season ranked first in the NFL in total yards allowed per game (277.2), second in points allowed per game (17.4) and allowed the league's third-lowest passer rating (76.2). He is the only cornerback in the NFL to record at least four INTs in each of the previous three seasons (2023-25).
In Week 16, Stingley earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week after totaling two tackles, one forced fumble and returning an interception 31 yards for a TD on the Raiders third play from scrimmage. It marked the first interception returned for a touchdown of Stingley's NFL career and he became the only player in franchise history to return an interception for a touchdown and force a fumble in the same game.
Anderson earns his first AP First Team All-Pro honor after starting all 17 games this season and posting career highs in nearly every major category, including total tackles (54), tackles for loss (20), sacks (12.0) and forced fumbles (3). He also recorded the first fumble recovery touchdown of his career in Week 7 at Seattle. In Weeks 6-11, Anderson posted a sack in six consecutive games, tying the franchise single-season record for longest sack streak and matching the second-longest streak by any player in the NFL this season. His 20 tackles for loss ranked fourth in the AFC, while his 12.0 sacks ranked fifth.
According to Next Gen Stats, Anderson finished with the second-most quarterback pressures in the NFL (85) and the third-highest pressure rate (20.5 percent) among players with at least 200 pass-rush snaps. He also set the NFL record for most third-down pressures (48) in a single season in the Next Gen Stats era.
Hunter earns his second AP Second Team All-Pro honor in 2018. He started all 17 games this season and registered the third-most sacks in the NFL (15.0), which also marked the second-highest single-season total of his career. Hunter finished the season with 54 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. From Weeks 10–12, he recorded 7.0 sacks, tied for the most by any player in a three-game span in franchise history. His Week 10 performance for which he earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week highlighted his All-Pro caliber season, as he posted a career-high-tying 3.5 sacks, four tackles for loss, four quarterback hits and one forced fumble.
He became the only player in franchise history and the third player in the NFL this season to record at least 3.5 sacks, four tackles for loss and one forced fumble in a single game. Hunter has now reached 14.0 or more sacks four times in his career, becoming the 13th player in NFL history to accomplish the feat.
