Jonathan Greenard has 'only scratched the surface' of what he can become in the NFL

"I can finally have that breath of fresh air, play ball and not worry about messing up."

Vikings pass rusher Jonathan Greenard (58) at team team training camp / Image courtesy of Minnesota Vikings

New Vikings edge rusher Jonathan Greenard says he feels more free in Brian Flores' aggressive defense.

Greenard put pen to paper on a four-year, $76 million contract with Minnesota this offseason after recording 12.5 sacks for the Texans in 2023. The 27-year-old pass rusher was among a flurry of additions to the Vikings' pass rushing unit after longtime stalwart Danielle Hunter departed through free agency.

"I played in a similar system like this before at Louisville and Florida, in my last years at school," said Greenard, talking about why he chose Minnesota on an appearance on the Green Light Podcast. "So I had an idea of the terminology, and obviously I knew [Brian Flores] added his own element to it by being super aggressive with it at times."

He says Minnesota welcomed him with "open arms" and that he "felt like I could just be myself."

"I can finally have that breath of fresh air, play ball, and not worry about messing up or something like that," continued Greenard. "Just saying 'Look, if you're playing fast and we make a mistake, we're good. We're not going to hound you for you playing ball.'"

Greenard racked up 38.0 sacks in four seasons split between Louisville and Florida. After his successful collegiate career, the Texans selected him with the 90th overall pick in the 2020 draft. Through four seasons in the NFL, Greenard has registered 23 sacks in 48 appearances.

Now in Minnesota, Greenard feels he's being given more freedom to play like the player he is, all while Brian Flores has him moving around, lining up in different spots across the defense. Asked what kind of a rusher he is, Greenard responded "aggressive."

"I think how I've learned to rush, everything will be set up off power. I'm an aggressive guy, who can get to you in about two, three steps. Other guys can chop and get there. By the time you get to your spot I'm already up on you so you might have to deal with my power, have to deal with my length, you might have to deal with a swipe," stated Greenard confidently.

"So I just feel like my fastball is getting on them so quick and making them have to make a decision. You're going to set to be outside and I'm going to go inside or you're going to set where you don't know and I'm going to run through you. Either one, they see the size and I think... it kind of snuck up on a lot of people last year. I'm not the biggest guy but I know how to play ball. I think that's why I've always just used my advantages. I'm a ball player at the end of the day."

While recording double-digit sacks for the first time in his professional career was nice, Greenard feels like he has "only scratched the surface of what I can really truly do in this league."

The ex-Texan is joined in the new-look Vikings pass rushing unit by first-round pick Dallas Turner, who the Vikings selected with the 17th overall pick in this year's draft. "My main thing is the same thing with him, you run a 4.4 [second 40-yard dash], you need to get up on them fast," said Greenard when asked for his assessment of the Vikings' rookie pass rusher.

"You've got insanely long arms, if your first move is not a long arm or some type of power to make them respect your length and then give you the hands, then you're just going to be sitting there trying to work on moves," Greenard continued. "I said 'Look, use that to your advantage. If they want to be that outside hand-puncher guy, run though their chest. Then you get what you want."

Related: How practicing against Christian Darrisaw is helping Dallas Turner grow