Chicago Bears Draft Debate: Jalen Carter or Will Anderson?

The Case for Will Anderson:

Will Anderson has been on draft boards and on draft radars since he was a true freshman but the hype peaked in the offseason as all eyes were on him after he outproduced both Aidan Hutchinson and Kayvon Thibodeaux as a sophomore right before they went to the NFL in 2021-2022.

Despite the hype being at an all-time high, Anderson’s growth was not linear in his junior year as he did not have the monster season that many thought he could have that could put him in Heisman contention. However, I do not think this should be a knock on Anderson as hitting some of those expectations was never very realistic because he already was about as good as you can get as a college pass rusher before his final season. His not hitting this unrealistic ceiling of a record-setting Heisman-esque season was not a worry of mine.

Anderson is as good as we have seen from a power/speed rusher, as I think he is Myles Garrett and Chase Young level good from a strict speed and power point of view. He is a very cerebral pass rusher, he knows the game, he knows how to use his hands, and he knows how to attack leverage.

He is one of the most complete EDGE rushers you will ever see at the college level, very good and willing to defend the run. He also has had nothing but good things said about his glowing personality and work ethic, not to mention his motor is always on full throttle. He takes zero snaps off if he is on the field and will chase down a running back from the backside on a play not directed at him.

The one thing that Anderson does not have in his arsenal that we saw in guys like Myles Garrett, Chase Young, and Kayvon Thibodeaux is that he does not have ton of bend that we see in many elite EDGE rushers. This could be a reason why he never hit his nonrealistic ceiling in college. Not to mention that he is built for a 3-4 scheme and his frame doesn’t exactly fit a traditional 4-3 scheme, like the one the Bears run.