The Greenard Sweepstakes Has a Sneaky Factor to Consider
The Jonathan Greenard sweepstakes is an unfolding drama.
In the Twin Cities is an underpaid edge rusher coming off a modest season. The person in question is none other than Greenard himself. There’s then a long-time executive functioning as the GM alongside a well-respected, award-winning head coach, neither of whom appear particularly enthused about a swap. Moving through to consider the other actors from within this drama involves uplifting the teammates, those who would need to carry a heavier burden if a trade materialized.
The Greenard Sweepstakes: Keep an Eye on Eric Wilson
The common sense move in a Greenard subtraction involves bumping up Dallas Turner.
Turner is someone who oozes potential and ability. Last year, he led the Vikings in sacks, picking up 8 across his expanded role in the team’s seventeen games. A major part of the reason why Mr. Turner claimed the top spot in the glamorous stat category is due to the injuries that afflicted Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard, the top pair of pass rushers.
Sometimes, a player who gets lost in the shuffle from within the discussions of the edge rusher situation is Eric Wilson. The veteran off-ball linebacker got moved up to edge rusher plenty last year — 336 snaps along the d-line versus 598 at linebacker — which contributed toward his career-high 6.5 sacks.
Check out how the edge rusher depth looks if Wilson gets included:
- EDGE1 Jonathan Greenard
- EDGE2 Andrew Van Ginkel
- EDEG3 Dallas Turner
- EDGE4 Eric Wilson
- EDGE5 Bo Richter
- EDGE6 Tyler Batty
- EDGE7 Chaz Chambliss
In a general sense, there’s a promising top trio of players who have all demonstrated some level of ability in the top cluster of names. The bottom three names belong to young, undrafted talents who have so far shown an ability to help on specials. Rounding out the group is Mr. Wilson, someone who really enhances the team’s ability to attack the quarterback.
Opting to trade Greenard means recouping north of $12 million in cap space (while introducing more freedom for 2027 onward). There’s then the pick that would be coming to the Twin Cities, a selection that gives the Vikings some ability to reinforce the position with more help along the edge.
But then there would be some strain on the position. Van Ginkel becomes the unquestioned top edge rusher and Turner moves into a full-time starting job. Standing behind them is Wilson, a player capable of pinning his ears back to get after the opposing QB.
Further freeing Wilson for that edge rusher role, should it arrive, is the retention of Ivan Pace Jr., who is now officially under contract.
So, consider how the edge rusher depth could look if a Jonathan Greenard trade does occur:
- EDGE1 Andrew Van Ginkel
- EDGE2 Dallas Turner
- EDGE3 Eric Wilson
- EDGE4 Dani Dennis-Sutton (2nd or 3rd)
- EDGE5 Mason Reiger (6th)
- EDGE5 Bo Richter
- EDGE6 Tyler Batty
- EDGE7 Chaz Chambliss
- EDGE8+ UDFA Adds
Tossing the young fellas into the mix — Dennis-Sutton alongside Reiger — is about accomplishing two goals. First, there’s a need to build for the future. Second, there’s a need to take a swing on upside. Accomplishing these two goals helps to raise the ceiling for the position now and in the future.
Continuing to task Eric Wilson with jumping into edge rusher snaps means solidifying the floor. Essentially, the veteran can provide a predictable standard from the important spot in the modern NFL as the pipeline gets an insertion of uncertain-yet-promising youth.
These factors make a trade easier for the Vikings to pull off.
Greenard, 28, is coming off a season where he struggled with injury. He stands at 6’3″ and weighs close to 260 pounds. Lots of players like to talk about being rugged and playing with a non-stop motor, but Greenard is someone who consistently lives up to the football lingo. He’s a fantastic football player.
The 2026 NFL Draft runs from Thursday, April 23rd until Saturday, April 25th. Keep an eye on how things unfold.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
