Texans DE Greenard Set For Breakout Year?

Young stars are key to any rebuilding franchise, and thankfully according to Pro Football Focus, the Houston Texans have at least one.

PFF ranked the league's top 10 year three breakout candidates, and at number two was Texans defensive end Jonathan Greenard. He is ranked behind only Denver Broncos' receiver Jerry Jeudy.

Says PFF:

This one may be cheating, as Greenard was tremendous last season, but it was on limited time. He only played 414 snaps in 2021, earning an 89.2 pass-rushing grade. These weren’t fluke plays — he has some of the best hand usage of any young pass-rusher in the NFL. Greenard has a whole host of moves at his disposal to go along with nearly 35-inch arms. That’s a winning combination even if we didn’t get to see it over the course of a full season. - Michael Renner, PFF.

Greenard rarely gets the plaudits he deserves for what was an impressive sophomore season.

Despite playing on a defensive line with no other real threats coming off the edge, Greenard handled the pressure well and managed a team-leading eight sacks and 12 quarterback hits in just 12 games.

Through a particularly impressive spell, Greenard notched six sacks and seven quarterback hits in just four appearances - all the more eyecatching when considering they came against the New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals, and LA Rams. 

But, as elided to, injuries are the only thing holding Greenard back from reaching his potential. In 2020 his hamstring and ankle limited him early on, while in 2021 his drop in appearances was down to an illness, chest injury, COVID-19, and a foot injury from which he is currently recovering after undergoing offseason surgery.

If Greenard can stay healthy, then there's no reason he cannot continue to ascend.

Under now-head coach Lovie Smith, Greenard will be returning to the same scheme in which he performed so well last season, but now surrounded by reinforcements up front including Jerry Hughes, Mario Addison, and Rasheem Green.