# Will Anderson Jr, Sheldon Rankins & Azeez Al-Shaair | Houston Texans Defense

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/green-light-with-chris-long-21032/will-anderson-jr-sheldon-rankins-azeez-al-shaair-houston-texans-defense
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/green-light-with-chris-long-21032/will-anderson-jr-sheldon-rankins-azeez-al-shaair-houston-texans-defense.md
Podcast: [Green Light with Chris Long](https://stenobird.com/podcast/green-light-with-chris-long-21032)
Published: 2026-09-04T07:02:00+00:00
Episode link: https://greenlightpodcast.org/
Audio file: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/YH2087782127.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/green-light-with-chris-long-21032/episodes/will-anderson-jr-sheldon-rankins-azeez-al-shaair-houston-texans-defense
Duration seconds: 3472

## Resource

Azeez Al-Shaair, Will Anderson Jr and Sheldon Rankins, fresh out of a joint practice with the Las Vegas Raiders, sit down with Chris and talk all things Houston Texans. Azeez details his journey from homelessness to NFL star. He went to the Super Bowl as a rookie with the San Francisco 49ers but was listed as inactive for the game. That decision shaped his mentality as an NFLer, promising to show coaches that they will never feel that they can take him off the field again. Will Anderson and Sheldon Rankins then join Chris to go in-depth on d-line talk. Chris gives Will his flowers as a pass rusher (and Sheldon his flowers for his help in Will's development), and they discuss the Texans' defensive line mindset and their 'show up and fight' mentality. (00:00) - Intro (01:05) - Azeez Al-Shaair (01:25) - Training Camp Joint Practices (04:30) - Texans OLine (09:50) - Rookie Season in San Francisco (15:35) - Azeez Al-Shaair's Journey to the NFL (22:00) - Texans' Defensive Cohesiveness (29:10) - Will Anderson Jr & Sheldon Rankins (32:55) - Will Anderson's Bull Rush (34:30) - Texans Team Identity: 'We're Gonna Fight' (37:50) - Reading Opposing Offenses (42:05) - Training with Myles Garrett & Meeting LeBron James (44:37) - Sheldon Rankins Play Style (49:00) - Azeez Al-Shaair's Mentorship (52:20) - CJ Stroud (54:00) - Texans DLine Meetings (56:15) - Kane Footwear Have some interesting takes, some codebreaks or just want to talk to the Green Light Crew? We want to hear from you. Send an email to the Green Light Mailbag presented by Zone Nicotine and give us your hottest takes, your biggest gripes and general thoughts. Day and night, the mailbag is open! greenlightmailbag@gmail.com With the return of the Layup Line, make sure to check out the playlist here: https://open.spotify.co…

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