The Houston Texans may have been bounced out of the NFL Playoffs in the Divisional Round for the third straight year, but the league's youngest franchise will still have a presence in San Francisco this week. At the 15th annual NFL Honors ceremony, Texans edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. is one of the five finalists for Defensive Player of the Year, joining Myles Garrett, Nik Bonitto, Aidan Hutchinson and Micah Parsons.
Thanks to Myles Garrett's record-breaking season, Anderson is unlikely to win this year -- don't be surprised if he finishes second in the voting, though -- but Texans fans shouldn't fret about this being his only opportunity to come home with the hardware. The third-year star is on a trajectory that will keep him in the hunt for this award for years to come.
This raises an interesting question, a thought experiment if you will. In addition to Will Anderson Jr., what individuals within the Texans organization are most likely to be nominees for the various awards that will be handed out NEXT YEAR at this time, when the 16th annual NFL Honors ceremony comes to Los Angeles?
Defensive Player of the Year - Calen Bullock
Derek Stingley Jr. would be the easy answer here, so consider my selection of Bullock a 'deep cut' so to speak. Bullock did make his first Pro Bowl and he finished with the fifth most All-Pro votes among safeties this season, so it's fair to say that he's on the precipice of a full-blown breakout. 2026 could be the season it happens, particularly if DeMeco Ryans and Matt Burke decide to weaponize the budding third year star in more unique ways than they have during his first two seasons.
Bullock is a ballhawk who has 10 interceptions in his first 38 regular season and postseason games, and because he's able to use his instincts and 6-foot-3 frame to his advantage so often in the deep-third of the field, the Texans have been reluctant to move him around the way the Baltimore Ravens or Arizona Cardinals have done so with Kyle Hamilton and Budda Baker respectively. But that doesn't mean that Bullock isn't capable of playing in the box. In fact, as a slot defender, Bullock was an eraser in 2025, giving opposing offenses virtually nothing when targeting him.
Houston's reluctance to move Bullock around could have something to do with Jalen Pitre's presence and ability to play that hybrid linebacker/safety role, but regardless of how he's used, it feels like Calen Bullock is only scratching the surface.
Comeback Player of the Year - Tank Dell
There will certainly be bigger name candidates who make a run at this award next year, including Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Miami Dolphins wide receive Tyreek Hill and Green Bay Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons, but none of these three players has gone through the hell that Tank Dell has over the last two seasons.
In both 2023 and 2024, a pair of promising campaigns were cut short for Tank Dell due to gruesome season-ending injuries, and sandwiched between these two injuries was a gunshot wound that Dell suffered as an innocent bystander in April 2024.
We have no clue what Tank Dell will look like when he makes his return to the field following a dislocated knee and multiple ligament tears. But one would assume that if Dell can make it through the entire 2026 season and he's even remotely close to his former self, there will be a rush of voters ready to put him on their ballot for Comeback Player of the Year.
Coach of the Year - DeMeco Ryans
DeMeco Ryans was edged out by the narrowest of margins in the Coach of the Year vote in his first season as the Houston Texans head coach, but since then the former Pro Bowl linebacker turned coach hasn't gotten nearly as much love from voters. But through three seasons, Ryans' resume is unassailable. With 32 regular season wins and 3 postseason wins to his name already, he's spearheaded the greatest stretch in Houston Texans franchise history.
For Ryans to get love in this category next year, the Texans will need to reclaim the AFC South crown and they'll likely need to contend for a top seed in the AFC, both of which feel attainable.
Assistant Coach of the Year - Matt Burke
I'll be honest, I don't understand how Matt Burke isn't on the ballot this year. Despite overseeing the league's best defense, Burke wasn't one of the top five vote-getters in this category, and with all due respect to Vic Fangio, Brian Flores, Klint Kubiak, Vance Joseph and Josh McDaniels, that's utterly ridiculous.
Burke doesn't get the credit he deserves because Houston's defensive scheme isn't overly complex, however, the team's execution of such a scheme should matter a great deal, as should the fact that this group embodies the mantra that Burke and Ryans want them to play by... SWARM. On a down to down basis, no defense in the NFL swarms like the Houston Texans do, and that should count for something.
Hopefully next season, when the Texans once again have one of, if not the best defense in the National Football League, voters will finally take notice.