The Houston Texans could be described as the best drafting team in the NFL currently and part of that reason stems from the fact that they landed Jonathan Greenard in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft and Will Anderson Jr. at No. 3 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. The two men have combined to become the Texans' best, and most games, only source of quarterback pressure on the team.
That was no different on Sunday against the Denver Broncos, as the duo combined for three sacks on the day, as well as a total of six quarterback hits, and an additional three tackles for a loss. The duo are putting up some nice stats and it's paying off for the defense. They finally are starting to see quarterbacks under pressure for the first time in a long time and that's due to the combined efforts of Anderson and Greenard, but their stats don't tell the whole story.
Greenard has more sacks than Anderson, eight to five, but Greenard isn't the more consistent player; Anderson is. Looking at PFF scores, Greenard has a 70.5 grade on the season, while Anderson has an 80.7 grade. Anderson is far better against the run according to PFF, as well as against the pass, but Greenard has been able to turn opportunities into tangible stats, something Anderson has struggled with.
Still, despite Greenard's sluggish few games of play recently, the duo represent arguably the best one-two punch in the NFL at defensive ends. It's likely both men finish with 10 sacks on the season, and if that happens, it'll be hard to deny that they aren't the best duo at defensive end. Now, Greenard needs to be more consistent, and he's far from being an elite player (unlike Anderson who may be), but the two together make one heck of a tag team.