Jon Greenard jammed his left biceps and forearm underneath Arizona Cardinals left offensive tackle D.J. Humphries’ shoulder pads, violently jolting the 6-foot-5, 307-pounder backward toward the path of elusive quarterback Kyler Murray.
The classic rip move showcased the growing pass rushing repertoire, deceptive strength and all-out style of the Texans’ emerging second-year defensive end. Greenard finished the play off, too, wielding the advantage he built with speed-to-power to use his right arm to chop Murray down to the ground at State Farm Stadium for the first of his two sacks.
Although the 1-6 Texans absorbed a 31-5 defeat for their sixth loss in a row, Greenard was an obvious bright spot in the game and during this rebuilding season. The former third-round draft pick and All-Southeastern Conference from the University of Florida who dominated future first-round draft offensive tackles in college like the University of Georgia’s Andrew Thomas, now with the New York Giants, and is building a reputation as an extremely difficult blocking assignment.
Photo: Getty Images
Greenard has four sacks in the past two games and is tied for seventh in the NFL, and his batting average as a pass rusher is incredibly high. The native of Hiram, Ga. (population 3,456) leads the NFL with a sack for every 13.7 pass rushing snaps played for the top rate in the NFL ahead of the New Orleans Saints’ Denario Davis (19.7), the Pittsburgh Steelers’ T.J. Watt (21.4), the Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett (21.9) and the Seattle Seahawks’ Darrell Taylor (24.8).
How does Greenard get the job done? It’s about playing hard, working smart and always chasing the football. There’s a developing savvy with Greenard to go with his determination. He’s learning fast and is one of the Texans’ best players regardless of position and arguably one of the most valuable players for a team trying to build for the future.
"Just playing relentless, just handling my job, reading my keys, beating my guy, just trying to make a play," Greenard said. "I mean overall, the defense, we're all trying to make a play. I was just at the right place right time, I think."
With each long arm, bull rush, chop, rip and swim move, Greenard is proving his point. His aggressive style allows him regularly penetrate the backfield and he has become a key element of defensive coordinator Lovie Smith’s 4-3 scheme that relies nearly exclusively on the four-man front to get after the quarterback. Without Greenard winning one-on-one battles, the Texans’ defense has little hope of keeping offenses honest.
"He's rushing his butt off, and I'm happy to see it,” said Texans defensive end Jacob Martin, who tackled Murray for a safety last week. “It's exciting. It's awesome to see him ball out, for sure."
Greenard is regarded as an ascending young player whose rare motor and a growing understanding of how to apply his moves are paying dividends. He’s become the top pass rusher on the Texans, who have just 14 sacks overall through seven games. Greenard has one more sack than former Texans defensive end J.J. Watt’s team-high five sacks last season.
“Well, I think he’s been a bright spot,” Texans coach David Culley said. “He’s making some plays. He’s playing hard, and I think that whole group is playing hard there. Basically, he’s been the one that has been able to make a few individual plays, but I think for the most part, that whole group has been playing well. He’s just been the guy that’s been able to make a few more plays.”
The Texans sacked Murray four times last week. Greenard continues to be a major factor despite the Texans’ record.
“Jon’s a dog,” defensive tackle Ross Blacklock said. “He’s just finding ways to get back there. We all kind of work together in sync. We all try to figure out ways for each other to win.
“We’ve had long talks, and I know he’s ready to take over. Each game he’s just getting better and better, and it’s exciting to watch. I’m beyond happy for him, and I just know the sky’s the limit for him.”
Although Greenard missed the first two games of the season with a sprained ankle suffered during the first preseason game against the Green Bay Packers, he’s making up for lost time. Heading into Sunday’s home game against the Los Angeles Rams at NRG Stadium, he has seven quarterback hits and seven tackles for losses in five games with one forced fumble
“It’s pretty good,” Greenard said. “It’s a solid start, obviously being hurt the first couple of games. I feel like I’ve got a long way to go to polish up a few things technique-wise. It’s just going to keep going up from here.”
Greenard’s versatile skills were on display Sunday during a 25-22 defeat to the New England Patriots. He sacked rookie quarterback Mac Jones in the fourth quarter and finished with two tackles for losses. During a loss to the Carolina Panthers, Greenard knocked the football out of quarterback Sam Darnold’s hand for a sack and forced fumble.
“What we’ve seen is that he had an injury early and that knocked him back a little bit,” Smith said. “What we’ve seen from him, he comes to work every day and he plays hard. He’s coachable and he’s a young player that’s developing his game still. I’m anxious to see how far he can go with it.”
Greenard uses his superior arm length to keep blockers at bay and prevent them from getting their hands on his body. He redirects his charge adeptly and is in constant motion.
“I’ve had long arms pretty much my whole life,” Greenard said. “When they introduced the move to me, it was like, ‘Wow, this move actually does work.’ One arm is longer than the other one, so I’ve been trying to perfect that and building, moving forward, building off of that move, it’s going to be a benefit for me.”
When the Texans drafted Greenard, they had high hopes for him as a hybrid edge rusher.
Now, Greenard is realizing that potential. The Texans foresee a bright future for him.
“He plays our six-technique position, which is over the tight end a majority of the time,” Smith said. “I think he’s strong enough, stout enough, big enough for us to have a favorable matchup at that position.
“It always comes down to defensive linemen being able to rush the passer, and I think he can rush, too. He’s young and I think his best football is ahead of him, but he’ll continue to play for us. We like a lot of the things that he’s done. Anxious for him to take another step, also.”
As a graduate transfer from Louisville, Greenard was an impact player for the Gators. He was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection who recorded 9½ sacks, 52 tackles, 15½ for losses, one interception and three forced fumbles.
At 6-3, 263 pounds, Greenard is a classic tweener who plays the game with a lot of power.
Greenard is a student of the game whose first-step quickness tells a different story than his ordinary 4.87 40-yard dash time. Greenard’s 10-yard split of 1.71 seconds is impressive.
Greenard has an extensive bunch of pass-rushing moves. He combines strength, quickness and heavy hands to control blockers and disengage to create big plays.
As a player, Greenard’s first-step quickness, violent power and ability to create leverage allow him to consistently win at the line of scrimmage.
“The biggest thing with Jon is his initial quickness and burst. He’s a slippery guy,” Florida defensive coordinator Todd Grantham said. “You can go back and look at Terrell Suggs coming out of Arizona State. He didn’t run very fast, and he dropped some because of that in the draft. What you run is just a portion of what a player is.”
Greenard’s trademark intensity, hard-hitting style and passion for football, the game he’s played since he was 5 years old, were major reasons Grantham wanted him as a cornerstone of his defense after recruiting him initially to Louisville.
Greenard was definitely ready for the jump in competition.
Greenard led Louisville with 15½ tackles for losses in 2017 and also recorded seven sacks. He was named team captain. In 2018, a major wrist injury sidelined him.
That preceded his decision to transfer to Florida and compete in the SEC. Greenard returned a fumble 80 yards for a touchdown against Vanderbilt. He had three sacks against Florida State, delivering a crushing hit on freshman quarterback Jordan Travis that caused a fumble.
“Honestly, the intangibles Jon had were why I wanted to bring him to Gainesville,” Grantham said. “We were in the transition of taking over the program, and we had some young players coming in that I wanted him to be around. Quite frankly, within the first quarter of the first game, he became the leader of that defense.
“Jon has the passion. He wants to be the best at everything he does. He’s going to come early for meetings. He’s going to prepare in the weight room and film room and work his tail off. The way he attacks meetings, practices — everything he does is game day.”
Greenard worked overtime this summer training with several of his teammates, including defensive tackles Maliek Collins and Jaleel Johnson and defensive ends Jacob Martin and Jordan Jenkins, under the tutelage of private defensive line coach Brandon Jordan, who trains some of the top pass rushers around the NFL.
“Anytime you work with BT, it opens up things from top to bottom,” Greenard said. “Everything he sees from me, it opens up a lot of things from a pass rushing repertoire. That’s why so many people go to him to work.”
Greenard doesn’t focus on his statistics, though. He’ll wait until the season is over to see where he stands.
“Just want to maximize my value,” Greenard said. “I don’t count them. I just play ball.”
The losing is wearing on Greenard, and everyone on the Texans’ roster.
“Losing is always tough,” Greenard said. “You can't find one guy who loves to lose. We can't sit here and cry about it. It sucks. We’ve still got 10 games to play. We can’t drown our sorrows.”
Aaron Wilson has covered the NFL for 20 seasons, including the Texans, Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars. He has previously written for The Houston Chronicle and The Baltimore Sun. He’s on Twitter: @AaronWilson_NFL and Instagram: @aaronwilson7128.
Photo: Getty Images