Florida football: Houston gets big hands in Jon Greenard

He may not be the fastest on the defensive line, but this Florida football player still has the ability to earn an NFL starting job.

Say what you will about Florida football edge rusher Jonathan Greenard.

He doesn’t have big closing speed.

He’s not the most athletic defensive lineman coming out of college.

But despite that, Greenard still has all the makings of a player that can earn a starting spot. Of course, we are talking about a player who was an SEC Defensive Player of the Week last season.

So much so that the Houston Texans scooped up Greenard with the 91st pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Texans are coming off a season where they were 19th in the NFL in total defense, giving up 6.1 yards per play — including 4.8 yards on the ground.

Where Greenard Fits in the Scheme

Stopping the run and applying pressure to opposing quarterbacks is where Greenard can certainly help Houston.

The Texans blitzed opponents more than 32% of the time.

For Florida football, Greenard made his presence known in the backfield, picking up 16 tackles for loss in just one season with the Gators.

Additionally, his hands at the point of contact were quick, allowing him to move off the edge and help stop running games in their tracks.

Last season, Greenard managed 53 tackles for a defensive end for Florida football.

Oh, and on top of that, he had 10 sacks, meaning his ability to rush from the edge was solid.

But for the Texans, Greenard could have the flexibility to work as an outside linebacker and use that edge-rushing to provide even more headaches for opposing teams.

Joe Marino of The Draft Network spoke well of Greenard, but also noted there are still aspects of his game that will need improvement:

"“While Greenard leaves something to be desired in terms of dynamic athletic traits and flexibility, his functional strength, hand technique and length help make up for it … Greenard has the upside to factor into an NFL defensive line rotation right away and claim the majority of the snaps by Year 2/3.”"

Right now, the Texans have Whitney Mercilus, Duke Ejiofor, Brennan Scarlett and Jacob Martin, who make up their outside linebacking/defensive end corps.

Mercilus led the Texans with 7.5 sacks, while Jacob Martin was third on the team with 3.5 sacks, and Scott was fourth on the team with 3.5 sacks. However, those numbers were still a bit low for an NFL team looking to make a move into the playoffs.

Does Greenard start right away for Houston? No, that isn’t likely.

However, he certainly does have the potential to work his way into the lineup, especially if the current starters don’t show some signs of improvement in the coming season.