The Texans continued adding to their defense Friday night by drafting Florida defensive end/outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard in the third round of the NFL Draft.
After taking interior defensive lineman Ross Blacklock of TCU in the second round, Houston chose Greenard at 90th overall.
"I'm going to come in and work hard," Greenard said in a media conference shortly after the Draft. "I'm going to have the same mentality I had in college, and high school. I had the underdog mindset."
According to general manager and head coach Bill O'Brien, the Texans and their scouts spent quite a bit of time evaluating Greenard and what he could possibly bring to the squad.
"We studied Jon a lot," O'Brien said. "Jon brings toughness. He brings a football intelligence. He's a hungry guy. He falls into that category of dependable, tough and smart."
In 2019 with the Gators, Greenard rang up 9.5 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss. He was a first-feam All-SEC defensive choice. It was his only season in Gainesville, as he played for Louisville from 2015-2017. The move south, though, helped him out off and on the field.
"Actually, I'm 18 credit hours away from getting my MBA, so that's number one," Greenard said. "But other than that, playing at a faster pace, playing in the best conference, the SEC ball, just playing against top-notch guys day in and day out."
Greenard (6-2, 263 pounds) grew up in Hiram, Georgia.and said his biggest strengths are his knowledge of the game, natural instincts, and knack for being around ball. He wants to continue to improve some aspects of his pass rush technique.
He's just the second Florida Gator ever drafted by the Texans. The team took receiver Jabar Gaffney in the 2002 NFL Draft.
