Nania’s All-22 breaks down New York Jets defensive end Henry Anderson’s 2019 season through film and numbers.
Career recap: Henry Anderson was taken 93rd overall in the third round of the 2015 Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. He came out of Stanford as a redshirt senior, putting him on the older side at 24 years old on opening week of his rookie season.
The New York Jets 3-4 defensive end was a highly-productive player at Stanford, collecting 8.5 sacks and high-pressure totals in his final season. His biggest deterrent on draft day was the question of where he would fit in the NFL. He was a tweener. At 6-foot-6 and 294 pounds, he could find a spot as a 3-4 defensive end with added bulk and strength, but he did not seem to have the natural power and physicality to thrive on the inside. 4-3 defensive end seemed to be a better fit for his skill set, but he lacked the speed, bend, twitch and athleticism to make things happen there full-time.
Indianapolis took a chance on Anderson, having him play defensive end in their 3-4 base defense under coordinator Greg Manusky. Anderson bulked up from 294 pounds at the Combine to 301 pounds by the start of the season, getting him closer to adequate size for life in the trenches.
When healthy, Anderson was a strong inside presence for the Colts over his three years in Indianapolis, proving capable of the transition some scouts were doubtful he could make. Here is where he ranked in Pro Football Focus’ grading among interior defensive linemen with 300-plus snaps:
- 2015 (out of 116): 28th overall, 26th run defense, 57th pass-rush
- 2016 (out of 113): 51st overall, 29th run defense, 51st pass-rush
- 2017 (out of 118): 42nd overall, 45th run defense, 25th pass-rush
Anderson was making noise in both facets. He ranked top-15 at his position in run-stop percentage (rate of run defense snaps recording a tackle that merits negative value for the offense) in 2015 and 2016. In 2017, he ranked 49th out of 143 qualifiers. As a pass-rusher, Anderson was consistently solid, ranking top-45 out of 120-plus qualifiers in pass-rush productivity (per-snap pressure rate with greater weight to sacks) in each season.
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