Jonathan Greenard’s big year at UF pays off. Houston Texans draft him in third round

Jordan McPherson
·2 min read

Jonathan Greenard’s tenure with the Florida Gators only lasted one season. He was a graduate transfer in 2019 after starting his college football career at Louisville.

But that one season at UF paid dividends for his draft stock and proved to be a valuable step toward his professional career.

The Houston Texans drafted Greenard, a hard-nosed edge rusher, in the third round — No. 90 overall — in the 2020 NFL Draft on Friday.

Greenard, 6-3 and 263 pounds, was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference member in his lone season at Florida after leading the conference with 15.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks in 12 games. He also added 52 tackles, an interception, four pass breakups and three forced fumbles to help the Gators finish the season ranked ninth in the country in total defense (304.8 yards allowed per game) and seventh in scoring defense (15.5 points per game).

Prior to coming to UF as a graduate transfer — he’s working toward his Master’s in business administration — Greenard spent four years at Louisville, where he had a combined 22.5 tackles for loss and nine sacks in 2016 and 2017. He redshirted as a true freshman in 2015 and suffered a season-ending wrist injury on Louisville’s first defensive series of the 2018 season.

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. ranked Greenard as his No. 8 overall defensive end prospect in the draft.

NFL analyst Lance Zierlein described Greenard as an “athletic, intelligent edge defender with enticing flashes as both a run defender and pass rusher.”

“Greenard’s plus get-off and ability to bend and corner the edge are predictive traits for success as an NFL rusher but he’ll need a more reliable go-to counter as a pro,” Zierlein continued. “He’s tough and aware at the point of attack and plays with consistent leverage and motor. Edge defenders need forceful hands to set edges and open doors as a pass rusher and his hesitation to unleash his right hand after suffering a major wrist injury in 2018 is a concern. If his hesitation is more mental than physical, he should become an eventual starter in either an odd or even front.”