A precious moment sparked Jonathan Greenard's breakout season.

The Vikings outside linebacker compiled career highs in every imaginable category with the Texans in 2023: sacks (12.5), tackles for a loss (15), quarterback hits (22), tackles (52), pressures (53), snaps (632) and so forth.

He attributes his emergence to a perfect storm of circumstances.

"My wife was pregnant with my daughter. I was going into Year 4. I was coming off an injury the season before, so I had a lot to look forward to," Greenard explained. "I wanted to prove myself."

He opened 2023 with a sack at Baltimore and blossomed in Week 4 against Pittsburgh with the third multi-sack game of his career. It was a significant showing one week after experiencing a couple important firsts.

Greenard was emotional prior to facing the Jaguars on Sept. 24, 2023. In addition to pregame adrenaline, he found out shortly before kickoff his fiancée (now wife) Alta's water broke, and she was going into labor.

He played at Jacksonville and recorded three tackles on 43 snaps as the Texans won 37-17 to begin turning around an 0-2 start. He then rushed back to Houston on "the craziest day, honestly, of my life," to meet his baby girl Rayna – two wins he said he'll remember forever.

"They could've easily told me to find my own way back," he gratefully conveyed of the Texans efforts. "But they took it upon themselves to let me go back home after the game, immediately, and I got there probably 2-3 minutes after my daughter was born."

In his farewell to Houston on Instagram, Greenard thanked the McNair family, the Texans owners, for their urgency.

Rayna, derived from her parent's middle names Raymond and Angelina, has unknowingly centered her dad's focus. The 27-year-old first-time father feels an extra sense of motivation to perform, to be successful, he said.

"When that child comes into the world it's all about her," Greenard expressed.

"I was doing it for us [originally]," he championed Alta's support dating to when they met. "She's a trooper through everything. Just knowing how she's had my back from the jump. Even back in college when she didn't even know what type of player I was going to be at all.

"People always wonder where's my motivation going to go or where I'm going to get it from," Greenard said, loudly clapping his hands once to emphasize his point. "I wake up and see it every morning."

Surging forward

Greenard posted the best three-game sacks total (5.5) of his career in Weeks 13-15 last year before an ankle injury limited him down the stretch. He was rolling, coming close to his goal of 20 sacks. Plays were left on the table.

"That stretch was crazy. I felt like I could have done a lot more," stated Greenard. "I feel like it was a good day at the office every time I stepped in there. I just had a mentality, that I just feel like nobody can block me but myself.

"I'm glad it happened the way it did," Greenard added in a confident breath. "Obviously, everything happens for a reason. I was able to get healthy."

Greenard recorded his first sack as a Viking in Week 2, and has been a key component in Minnesota's defense recording five sacks in Week 1 and six against San Francisco.

Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores has amplified Greenard's ability to generate pressure. Pro Football Focus credited Greenard with 12 quarterback pressures so far this season, which is tied for sixth in the NFL. The only players with more entering Week 3 are Aidan Hutchinson (17), Boye Mafe (15), Micah Parsons (14), Chris Jones (13) and Zach Allen (13).

"I don't think there's any limit for him," Vikings inside linebacker Blake Cashman contended. "He's going to have the freedom to use his raw talent and skills to put himself in the best position to make a play."

Cashman credited Greenard's ability to detect when an offensive lineman is "going to set soft or when he's going to jump you." Initially, he'll utilize his length and strength "then kill you with [a countermove]."

"I believe he's going to take that next step and be able to build off the great year he had last year," Cashman continued. "It's going to be great for him and going to be really sweet for this football team."

Although Greenard signed a substantial contract, he's approaching this year with an unsatisfied appetite for stalking quarterbacks.

"In my eyes I just feel like I haven't done enough," Greenard said. "I feel like I can always do more. … And this team allows me to do that, [to] be confident in myself, and not hold anything back and just play ball.

"That was one of the main reasons why I came here," shared Greenard, referencing the culture that Flores and Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell have integrated – it fosters a sense of self; of freedom.

"Your motor never fails you," Greenard underlined hustle's rank atop his personal keys to rushing the passer. "My moves, I've always tried to continue to patent them and perfect those moves in practice – some of them don't work; a lot of them don't work. But at the same time, effort will never betray you.

Texans ties

Mike Parson knew Greenard's voice, demeanor and uplifting personality before his face.

"I remember when we signed him here it was funny because he was like, 'Dang, Mike, this is the first time I've ever seen you without a mask on,'" quipped Parson. "I was like, dang, I ain't even think about that."

Parson is in his second year as the Vikings Director of Equipment Services. His relationship with Greenard dates to Houston. Parson worked there 13 seasons, his last in 2020 when "J.G." was a rookie.

"J.G. is good people," smiled Parson, shifting into story mode about the litany of challenges the NFL combated in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic. "The first time we ever met, we met with a mask on."

We'll try our best to contextualize the oddities of that season.

Greenard, and other Texans rookies, were separated from the rest of the team in one of three locker rooms at Houston's facilities. He made his NFL debut Week 4 — believe it or not — against the Vikings.

"That's actually crazy. I remember that. I remember those guys. My head was spinning. … It was 2020 so it was during COVID. It was super, super weird – felt like a glorified scrimmage. I didn't know what to expect, what to think. I honestly was out there with my head cut off."

Parson, stationed in the main Texans locker room far down a corridor, described his immediate relationship with Greenard as distant. Usually, Parson would be the first and last person rookies see in their day-to-day routines. Instead, he was masked, on the other side of the building, worried about the "doggone Kinexon devices" that were used to identify close contacts in case an individual tested positive for COVID-19.

Interactions were quick. Caution was paramount.

But as the season progressed, so did their relationship. Parson calls Greenard, "one of my guys," and noted it was cool to watch him develop from afar the past three seasons.

Their reunion, and Greenard fulfilling the opportunity to take care of his family, made Parson happy.

"It was kind of like a proud parent moment," Parson said. "When you do this job, you get the guys when they're very, very young and you do everything you can to help them be successful and grow as a player."

In terms of Year 1-5 growth, Parson observed Greenard is more vocal now and has assumed a big brother role with certain Vikings players. Parson imagines Greenard learned and picked up a few leadership qualities from Houston cornerstone J.J. Watt (they played together in 2020), who was more of the I'ma show you type of leader that knew when to encourage teammates with his voice. Sounds like Greenard.

"[He's] a ball of energy," Parson remarked. "Somebody whose motor is going to keep running but also a good guy. He fits our locker room [and community] very well. I think it's a great match."

Hosting Houston

Greenard is itching to host Houston — to challenge C.J. Stroud in a non-practice, full-speed setting.

"That's like my little brother, man. But as you know, when we step in between them white lines, none of that matters no more," Greenard declared. "It will definitely be a memorable moment.

"[We] always finish our conversations with 'I'll see you Week 3,'" Greenard added of exchanges with Texans players. "But not in that sense of like I have a personal vendetta against them. Nah, it's just, 'Hey, man, we get to strap it up Week 3, and y'all get to come to my home field,' so I'm excited about that."

And about playing alongside former Texans teammates Cashman and Kamu Grugier-Hill. The former starred on the Houston defense with Greenard in 2023; the latter was a 14-game starter there in Greenard's second NFL season and left in 2022. They've helped each other assimilate and lead a new team in a new direction. Cashman, an Eden Prairie native, offers restaurant tips, and Grugier-Hill, wearing his sixth uniform, offers life advice.

"These guys are just amazing people that just so happen to play football and [are] my locker mates," praised Greenard, highlighting their football IQ and energy. "I'm excited to see what they do this year."

The Vikings-Texans matchup is a fun study beyond Cashman, Greenard and Grugier-Hill.

Two of Houston's stars are up-and-comer defensive end Will Anderson, Jr., the No. 3 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year, as well as four-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil.

In Minnesota's corner, there's rookie outside linebacker Dallas Turner, the No. 17 overall draft pick and former teammate of Anderson's at Alabama, along with recently extended left tackle Christian Darrisaw.

Because of his position, Greenard has the inside scoop on all four players.

He believes Tunsil and Darrisaw break the mold of traditional tackles. They're superior athletically and strong enough to control defenders by putting their hands on them. They're "just elite, man," he said.

"They're not 6-7, towering guys or these 350-pound guys that take up space. These are guys that can truly play the game really well at their positions. Obviously, their paychecks say so," Greenard chuckled.

Anderson, who was second on the 2023 Texans with seven sacks, is more of a polished d-lineman.

"Dallas on the other hand is a specimen who can play it all," admired Greenard, touching on Turner's 4.4-speed, existing knowledge in his arrival to the Vikings and eagerness to continue learning. "He can literally play d-line, he can drop in coverage, he can play a linebacker-type deal. He can do a lot.

"Working with both of them so far has been a joy just because they both listen," Greenard added with genuine care for both players. "To have a chance to work hands-on with them, I'm very fortunate in my career to be blessed with two younger guys like that, that I can either teach or also learn from, as well."

Greenard's taste of the playoffs in 2023 was a tease. He wants more, and thinks Houston is a great test.

"They're trying, in a sense, to maintain that status they kind of built last year," Greenard compared his old team to the Vikings and anticipates his emotions running high. "We're figuring out – understanding with newer players – figuring out what our identity is … how we match up against championship talent.

"They're on the rise," he added. "I know they're not going to make it easy on us at all."

Purple beginnings

"Pudgy" comes to mind … unintentionally.

Hiram High School defensive line coach Stan Halbrooks answers the phone and recalls his early impression of the NFL player. "I don't want to say he was pudgy," admitted Halbrooks, contemplating the right descriptor for Greenard when he entered his sophomore year. "But he shot up and got real skinny."

Greenard's growth spurt carried to the weight room.

"He says, 'Coach, my bench press max went up 30 pounds!' and I thought 'Man, that's awesome!'" Halbrooks flashed to a Hiram practice where Greenard was preparing to play defensive line for one of the first times. "I said, '225-230 or something like that?' and he says, 'Nah, coach, I bench 155 now!'

"I said, 'You're telling me I'm getting ready to start a kid that doesn't bench but 155 pounds against one of the top five teams in the state? I must be crazy!'" laughed Halbrooks. "We came up with a plan where he was going to move every play, just back and forth, and then when the ball was snapped be in his gap."

It worked, of course. Halbrooks remembers Greenard dodging offensive linemen the whole game.

Stories of Greenard's feats on the field and kindness off it grew faster than his bench max. There was never a worry about his behavior in the classroom because "his mama didn't play about grades." There are many examples of his leadership, including his befriending of special needs classmate Ryan Tomberlin, and encouragement of teammates to study film like coaches. He was dynamic on defense and offense.

"It didn't matter who you were. If you were the best kid on the team or the worst kid on the team, he was going to go out of his way to make you feel welcome," Halbrooks said. "He's a great human being."

And easy to be wowed by on game day.

"There was one game we played a county rival and Jon scored nine points and they didn't score any points," recounted Halbrooks, admiring his protégé. "So I tell people, 'I guess he beat them by himself.'

"He won't like me telling you this," Halbrooks imparted before detailing Greenard's super two-way performance. "He scored a touchdown on offense – he was playing receiver and tight end some, and so he scored a touchdown on offense – then they were down [near their end zone] and he sacked the quarterback, and I guess he didn't see the ball come loose and one of their guys jumped on it for a safety. He could have had another touchdown, but he intercepted a pass and was running and ran out of gas – probably because he played so many snaps that game – and got caught at the 2-yard line."

Greenard has scored college and NFL defensive touchdowns. He scooped and ran a fumble 80 yards for a score his senior season at Florida and had a pick-six in the 2022 regular-season finale at the Colts.

Halbrooks congratulated Greenard via text message when he joined the Vikings. The Hiram coach and social studies teacher said it was a big deal for students to see how far Greenard has journeyed from the Georgia town 25 miles northwest of Atlanta; from occasionally practicing in a dust bowl – Halbrooks reminisced about Greenard intensely leading his peers despite his asthma – all the way to Minnesota where the hues match what he wore at Hiram.

"Hmm, back in the purple," he thought when Greenard signed his free-agent deal. "He's going to make as many plays for the Vikings as he did for us in high school."

There are signs galore Greenard is supposed to be here: the relationships; the color scheme; his older brother Mack Greenard coaches the defensive line for the Lakeside Vikings in Atlanta; he and Cashman were at Grugier-Hill's wedding – their friendships are real.

Greenard took notice of them and ran.

"It's kind of like I was destined to be here," Greenard said. "All of those things kind of hit me. … The purple and gold; Blake and Kamu being here; people on the equipment staff and the training staff that I had been with previously in Houston. It just felt like everything was just meant for me to be here.

"I feel like it was nothing but God," he accepted. "At this point, it's already written."