The Vikings are Looking to a New Defender to Bring the “Juice”
K. Joudry
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The Vikings are looking for Jonathan Greenard, the recently-signed EDGE1, to bring the pass-rush “juice.” Or, at least, that’s the word from head coach Kevin O’Connell.
O’Connell spent quite a bit of time chatting with the media at the Annual League Meeting. Sensibly enough, the Vikings’ many free agent additions was a topic of discussion. O’Connell is looking for his top edge rusher to be a bruiser in passing situations, offering “that pass-rush juice to really just impact and change the game.”
The Vikings are Looking to Jonathan Greenard to Bring Some Juice
Somehow, Greenard has been a bit overlooked.
A lot of the recent discussion has focused on Andrew Van Ginkel. The versatile former Dolphin has a history with Brian Flores and will be playing a key role in 2024. Don’t forget, though, that Van Ginkel was onboarded for a couple seasons at $20 million, numbers that pale in comparison to Greenard’s four-year agreement that stands at $76 million in total money.
If money tells the truth in the NFL — it does — then the pair of contracts point toward a certain defender taking on a role in Minnesota’s defense that’s distinctive in its importance.
Greenard, who will turn 27 at the end of May, is going to be playing a pivotal role. In fact, he could end up being Minnesota’s most important defender (just like Danielle Hunter during the 2023 season). On a weekly basis, Greenard will be tasked with making quarterbacks skittish when it’s time to pass the ball.
Last season, the edge rusher put together a career-high 12.5 sacks. He did so while adding on 22 QB hits and then 15 TFLs. So, some excellent production from one of the game’s most important positions.
Maybe the main reason for concern with the new addition is that he’s yet to play a full season in the NFL. Greenard began his NFL career back in 2020 after being selected 90th overall by the Texans. Since then, he has been involved in 13 games, 12 games, 8 games, and then 15 games in his four seasons.
He hit a career high for snaps in 2023 by being involved in 632 for the defense. Previously, the most snaps he has played arrived back in 2021 when he was on the field for 413 snaps. Compare that to Hunter for a frame of reference. Minnesota’s former EDGE1 logged 1,006 snaps in 2023 and 906 snaps in 2022, a workload that’s far beyond Greenard’s recent playing time.
The positive is that Greenard achieved his excellent statistical production in 2023 without needing a pile of snaps. He was efficient. ESPN’s pass-rush win rate put him at 6th in the NFL, meaning there’s a lot of upside with the signing. Full health and a full workload could result in some eye-popping numbers for Greenard, especially since he’s working in such an aggressive scheme.
Last year, the Texans had the 5th-lowest blitz percentage in the league, only sending an extra man 21.0% of the time. Contrast that to Minnesota’s 1st-place finish in blitz percentage with an extra man being added to the pass-rush fun on 51.5% of the opportunities.
In all likelihood, the insanely high blitzing percentage was partly driven by the fact that Minnesota didn’t have defensive linemen capable of generating pressure on their own. Flores may have been forced to be more aggressive than normal.
Even if the DC dials things back a bit, though, the blitzes will still be plentiful. In theory, Greenard should get more one-on-one looks since the offense’s protection will be consistently tasked with needing to account for an extra man/extra men coming after the QB.
From within that context of an aggressive defense, the Vikings will be looking toward Jonathan Greenard to provide some juice off the edge.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.