INDIANAPOLIS — The Houston Texans know they need to beef up their edge defense, and they could be looking to an SEC East school to help them out.
According to former Florida Gators outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard, the Texans have spoken to him informally at the NFL Scouting Combine and also plan to hold a formal interview with him on Friday.
Teams can have as many informal interviews as they like among the 337 attendees in Indianapolis. However, clubs are limited to the number of formal interviews they can have — up to 45. That the Texans want to hold a formal with Greenard indicates he has more than piqued their interest.
The 6-4, 263-pound edge defender, who was listed among the defensive line prospects at the combine, had an impactful final season with Florida, producing 53 tackles, 16.0 tackles for loss, 10.0 sacks, an interception, four pass breakups, three forced fumbles, and returned his lone recovery for a touchdown.
Prior to playing for the Gators, Greenard spent three seasons with the Louisville Cardinals.
“Basically I came into Louisville 2015 — obviously I still stayed there, I loved my teammates, I loved the atmosphere and everything but once I got hurt I kind of put the ball in my court,” Greenard told reporters Thursday.
Greenard doubled up his course work in 2018 so that he would not have to sit out a season and followed Todd Grantham, who was his former defensive coordinator for two seasons at Louisville, to Florida where he had held the same job since 2018.
“I felt like I could kind of be that missing piece that was missing so what better way to test my talents than moving on to the SEC,” Greenard said.
Now, it appears the Texans want to add his talents to help a pass rush that finished tied with the Cincinnati Bengals for the sixth-fewest in the NFL last season with 31.
