Michael David SmithOct 15, 2026
Smith argues Texans defensive end Will Anderson is the leading candidate for Defensive Player of the Year and suggests they may win the award even if Houston's season doesn't improve.
Published in writing · NBC SportsRead the original
What Michael David Smith said
this year it may go to Anderson even if the Texans don’t turn things around
- Where it was published
- NBC Sports
- The piece
- Texans are 1-4, but Will Anderson is playing like a Defensive Player of the Year
- The original
- Read the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
How the call scored
One checkable claim, graded on its own against what actually happened.
It names 2 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
Nothing to score yet: this grades once the result is in.
The call is scored 0 to 100 against what happened, on its own, by the published methodology. The naive guess is what knowing nothing would have scored on the same call; the gap, weighted by how hard the call was, is the skill.
Award PicksWill Anderson Jr.Houston Texans
Will Anderson Jr. to win Defensive Player of the Year
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
Bobby Skinner · Trade and Signing Calls · Stefon Diggs · Miss 0
Skinner predicted Daniel Jones signs with and wins the starting job in Indianapolis, Milton Williams to New England, Lavonte David back to Tampa, Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams to the Giants, DJ Reid to Arizona, Hassan Reddick to Washington and Justin Fields staying in Pittsburgh, plus alternates they had listed.Chris Simms · Score Predictions · Houston Texans · Hit 81
Simms gave a predicted final score for every Week 9 game, picking the Bengals, Chiefs, Broncos, Lions, Giants, Rams, Cowboys, Saints, 49ers, Patriots, Seahawks, Texans, Bears and Bills, and also said they wouldn't be shocked to see Jacksonville reach the AFC Championship Game.Connor Rogers · Game Outcome Picks · Houston Texans · Hit 100
Rogers picked straight-up winners in every Week 9 game, agreeing with Simms on all of them, and gave a 24-20 Bills score over the Vikings on Monday night.Nick Wright · Score Predictions · Houston Texans · Hit 83
Wright made several outright game calls for Week 9 alongside their spread picks: Kansas City beating the Jets 31-20, Detroit winning at Miami, New England edging Green Bay by a field goal or so, Carolina winning outright over Denver, and Houston blowing out the Chargers 27-12.
More award picks
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Willie Colon · Award Picks · Sam Darnold · Miss 0
Colon picked the Seahawks to win 24-14 with Sam Darnold as Super Bowl MVP.Danny Parkins · Award Picks · Jaxon Smith-Njigba · Miss 0
Parkins picked Seattle to win 27-16 with Jaxon Smith-Njigba as Super Bowl MVP.