J.Greenard

[purplefaithful]

On the night of March 13, just hours after the Vikings officially signed their first wave of free agents at TCO Performance Center, those players, their families and some Vikings coaches had dinner together.
New edge rusher Jonathan Greenard, who signed a four-year deal worth up to $76 million, was among the intrigued guests. He had just agreed to join his fifth different head coach in five NFL seasons. He had seen many leadership styles, and right away Kevin O'Connell's seemed different.
"That was kind of newer to me," Greenard said. "That environment of coach sitting down with you, talking with you and stuff like that. Just having that open communication and knowing we all want the same thing at the end of the day. It's about getting the job done and it can be achieved through communication. I think having that and seeing them in their element outside of football was pretty cool and new for me. That was definitely a good feeling."
The Vikings prioritized Greenard, once a 2020 third-round pick, to revamp their pass rush. They agreed on a contract less than an hour into NFL free agency opening last week. 
Age: 27 in May
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 259 pounds
Jersey number: 58
Contract: 4 years, $76 million with $38 million guaranteed at signing
At a glance: Appeared in 50 of 69 NFL games through four seasons, including two playoff games; 33 tackles for losses, 23 sacks, eight pass deflections, three forced fumbles and an interception returned for a touchdown.
Injury history: Greenard has yet to play a full NFL season; suffered a season-ending calf injury midway through the 2022 season; missed nearly all of 2018 at Louisville due to a dislocated right wrist.
Notable: Greenard isn't as tall as the 6-foot-5 Danielle Hunter, but he has longer reach. Greenard's nearly 35-inch arms tied for the longest among all defensive linemen at the 2020 NFL scouting combine
https://www.startribune.com/vikings-nfl-free-agency-get-to-know-jonathan-greenard-edge-rusher/600353111/

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Once an undersized linebacker in northwestern Georgia, Greenard has kept much of his athleticism while developing into a productive NFL edge rusher. On the field, acceleration is his "biggest thing," Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke told Houston reporters last season. Greenard fires off the line quickly to get a step ahead of the opposing blocker and has the flexibility to bend his body around a tight corner to the quarterback.
His breakout season last year under Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans featured a career-high 22 hits on the quarterback, including 12.5 sacks that trailed only nine other NFL defenders. He was among the NFL's quickest to apply pressure, averaging 2.56 seconds to affect the quarterback, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
"Getting off the ball, I would say, is JG's biggest thing," Burke told Houston reporters on Nov. 2. "Like when he's launching and covering ground out of his stance, he sort of plays on his terms. He's an explosive player.
"So, when he gets out, he's like forcing linemen to make decisions earlier and he can get into the rush earlier," Burke added. "When he stutters at the line of scrimmage, or he's not quite as threatening, maybe he doesn't look the same. For him to go through that process and realize when the success is coming for him, when he plays with his length and when he's explosive, he's a pretty impactful player. The consistency for him to do that play in and play out, I feel like he's been trending through the whole season to this point, and hopefully he keeps growing."
Greenard has to clean up his tackling after missing 13 attempts last year, according to PFF. His missed tackle rate was the worst in Houston last year and would've been in Minnesota, too. Greenard is effective when wrapping up. He was among six Texans with at least 20 run stops for the NFL's No. 2 run defense (3.5 yards per carry).

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Greenard, a former team captain at Louisville in 2018, has been touted as an intelligent leader with a "worker-bee" approach. He said he's adaptable. He's had to be.
Brian Flores will be Greenard's seventh defensive coordinator in 10 years. He had three defensive coaches in four years at the University of Louisville. He reunited with one of them, Todd Grantham, when transferring to Florida for his last college season. The NFL team that drafted him, the Texans, got a new head coach all four years he was there.
"I've actually been dealing with D-coordinator changes since college," Greenard said. "To come to the league, it kind of helped me prepare for that and just understand to be versatile in any system. I think that's a great thing that I learned football in all types of schemes."
According to PFF, Greenard has mostly rushed wide against left tackles in his NFL career, very rarely drifting inside or dropping into coverage. It'll be interesting to see how Greenard fits into Flores' blitz schemes that have historically asked defenders to work through various responsibilities. 
Last season, Patrick Jones II led Vikings edge rushers with more than 50 snaps inside the tackles; Greenard has 10 such snaps in four NFL seasons.

"Thankfully my job is a lot easier than others," Greenard said about adapting to new schemes.
 "I can just rush and go get the quarterback. Not too much more thinking than that. But coming into a system like this, we are going to be using a lot of different [things] that I've done before and I think that's the best where you can showcase everybody's abilities."

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Asked about filling the void, Greenard emphasized that the impact Hunter made isn’t lost on him.
Not even an hour into the NFL’s legal tampering period last week, the Vikings agreed to terms with Jonathan Greenard, the former Houston Texans defensive end. Less than 24 hours later, Houston agreed to terms with Danielle Hunter.

Effectively, the Vikings and Texans swapped edge rushers. Think of it as an invisible string that will tie both players to each other for the foreseeable future.
“My job is not to come in and try to fill anybody’s shoes,” said Greenard, who finished last season with 12 1/2 sacks. “My job is to be myself and do what got me to this point.”

Still, the connection between Greenard and Hunter is something that exists, and it will follow him throughout his tenure with the Vikings.
“I’m not oblivious to what’s going on,” Greenard said. “That doesn’t change me at all.”
He’s still going to get after the opposing quarterback with reckless abandon. He’s still going to talk trash whenever he’s on the field. He’s still going to make everybody around him laugh with his infectious personality and toothy smile.
“I’m going to be the same person,” Greenard said. “Everybody is going to love me.”
That comment oozed with confidence rather than cockiness and evoked laughter during his introductory press conference at TCO Performance Center in Eagan. It’s pretty clear that he is going to be a joy to talk to off the field. Now, he has to prove he can be menace on it.
That’s exactly what Hunter was for so long. He struck fear into the hearts of opposing quarterbacks, racking up 87 1/2 sacks during his tenure with the Vikings, and establishing himself as a fan favorite despite his shy demeanor. Frankly, it’ll be weird watching the Vikings without Hunter changing the game with his relentless motor.
A statement from the Wilf family last week described Hunter as having among the most accomplished careers in franchise history.
“His physical presence and aggressive style of play helped our defense rank near the top of the NFL for several years,” the team owners’ statement read. “His lead by example, humble approach made it easy for teammates to select him as a captain, for fans to cheer for him and for the community to embrace him as a Minnesotan.”
The feelings of adoration were mutual.
“We have created some incredible moments and memories together that I will never forget,” Hunter wrote in a heartfelt post on Instagram. “I will deeply miss this organization and fan base.”
Asked about filling the void, Greenard emphasized that the impact Hunter made isn’t lost on him. He wants to be respectful of getting to follow in the footsteps of a legend at the position. He also understands the lineage of quality edge rushers who have made their way through Minnesota.
“I’m honored to even be considered to be in that type of category,” Greenard said. “I see myself getting to the quarterback the same way.”
It will be interesting to see how defensive coordinator Brian Flores plans to deploy Greenard. He will likely be moved around as a way to make opposing quarterbacks uncomfortable in and out of the pocket. As much as that could be a lot to take in, Greenard said he’s intrigued by the thought of it.
https://www.twincities.com/2024/03/18/jonathan-greenard-focused-on-being-himself-with-vikings-not-replacing-danielle-hunter/