The Closer

EAGAN, Minn. -- The best player in the Minnesota Vikings training camp this summer had done it once again. Linebacker Jonathan Greenard destroyed the combination of blockers assigned to slow him down, reaching quarterback J.J. McCarthy so fast that coaches blew their whistles before McCarthy could look downfield.

"We call him the closer," Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said. "How many times have we seen him win a one-on-one, or even with help from the back or the tight end, and he just wins and ends the drill?"

The answer: Too many to count.

Greenard dominated the opening weeks of Vikings training camp, reminding crowds not only of his breakout 2024 season, but making clear he has more to give. After posting the message "More is Required" on social media following the Vikings' playoff ouster in January, Greenard has taken it upon himself to demonstrate what he meant.

"It takes a lot of humility to just say, 'Hey, I'm ready to learn today,'" Greenard told ESPN. "I'm trying to learn something every single day so I can just build up on my game, so that nobody can stop me. They may know I do a certain move, but I may have added something else to the move that they've never seen before. And at that point, you're balling."

Greenard earned his first Pro Bowl honor last season after signing with the Vikings as a free agent, and his "Closer" nickname was well-earned. He recorded six of his 12 sacks, and nine of his 18 total tackles for loss, in the fourth quarter or overtime -- the third- and second-most in the NFL, respectively. Sacks are not always the perfect measure of pass-rush skills, but their impact at the end of close games is significant. It's not difficult to connect those plays to the Vikings' 9-1 record in one-score games.

The Vikings' coaching staff, particularly defensive coordinator Brian Flores, has been interested in Greenard's push this summer. Where can the team require more from Greenard? Flores and Greenard held a nuanced conversation about it this offseason.

"He's worked on his pass rush," Flores said. "He's worked on setting the edge in the run game. But also: How do I set somebody up? I think he's that sort of unselfish player."

In other words, what can Greenard do to make the players around him more productive? Greenard nodded his head vigorously when asked for details. One example, he said, is knowing the scheme well enough to avoid using an inside pass-rush move that gets in the way of a defensive tackle.

"That's just about understanding where I can take my moves and realizing that it could lock him up and not let him play free, depending on what I do," Greenard said. "So anytime that I could just make other guys play comfortably and free, while I'm still doing my thing on the outside, that's the main thing we're speaking on.

"Last year was my first year getting used to this system, so now I have a better understanding when I can be aggressive and then add on the ways I can set other people up."

Coverage is also a point of emphasis; it's a requirement for even the most accomplished pass rushers in Flores' scheme. This past season, Greenard bemoaned his failure to follow Detroit Lions tailback Jahmyr Gibbs on a wheel route in the teams' Week 7 matchup. Gibbs gained 16 yards on the play, putting the Lions in position for what turned out to be the winning field goal.

In all, Greenard dropped into coverage on a career-high 64 snaps last season, the second most of any player who finished the season with 10 or more sacks. The only such player with more snaps in coverage was teammate Andrew Van Ginkel (115). Among the 15 other players with at least 10 sacks, the average snaps in coverage was 23.7.

Often, players who focus on improvement are trying to dig out from an underwhelming season. Those who played well are hoping to maintain their level. Greenard, however, is doing neither this summer.

How much better can he truly be in 2025? He's ready to find out.

"Each year I just continue to just learn something," he said. "You might feel like you know it all every single year -- until you have another year and another year under your belt. I always say it's good to be punched in the mouth at times, to make you go back to the drawing board and make you understand why you love this stuff.

"So I feel like I can take this thing as far as God will let me. I have a lot left in the tank."

ESPN