Texans DE Jonathan Greenard: A Pro Bowl in 2022?

Jonathan Greenard might be the Texans best hope on defense.

Matt Galatzan | Jul 6, 2022

The Houston Texans have nowhere to go by up on defense.

In fact, the Texans fielded one of the league's worst units in 2021, ranking at or near the bottom of the league in both total yards and points allowed.

But after a successful offseason of player acquisition through both the draft and free agency on that side of the ball, there is one thing the Houston defense sorely needs -- a star.

Enter defensive end Jonathan Greenard who NFL.com believes is the best candidate for Lovie Smith's team to break through to the Pro Bowl in 2022.

The pickings remain slim in Houston, and while I desperately wanted to push all of my chips to the center of the table on Davis Mills, I just couldn’t do it (at least not yet). The more likely candidate to reach the Pro Bowl is one of the sneakier standouts from last season, Greenard, a player who quietly led the Texans with eight sacks. He did so on a limited number of snaps, too, and didn’t miss the watchful eye of Pro Football Focus, which has Greenard listed among its top 10 breakout candidates from the 2020 draft class. If we’re looking for a first-time Pro Bowl candidate in Houston, Greenard is the one.

Last season in his second year with the team, Greenard exploded onto the scene, finishing the year with 52 tackles, nine sacks, five pass deflections, two forced fumbles, 11 tackles for loss and 15 quarterback hits in 12 games, with 12 starts.

If he is indeed to break through and become the impact player the Texans so desperately need, those numbers will need to increase.

That should become easier with the influx of talent coming into the roster, and the new defensive scheme, led by Smith.

The only question is, will it be enough?

Published Jul 6, 2022

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan the Editor-In-Chief of TexansDaily.com. Galatzan graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry under Mike Fisher at DallasBasketball.com in 2014, which at the time was part of the 247Sports network. He also spent two years covering the SMU Mustangs for PonyStampede.com on the 247Sports network. When DallasBasketball.com and CowboysCountry.com moved over to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, Galatzan followed suit, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com and AllAggies.com a year later. Through the years, Galatzan has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, former Longhorns players Dan Neil and Phil Dawson, and many other recruits, and current/former players for each of the teams he has covered. Galatzan is also a full-time employee in the digital media department for Audacy and KRLD FM's 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, which is the official radio home of the Dallas Cowboys. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels. For any inquiries, please email matt.galatzan@gmail.com