Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett is the best defender in the NFL, many would argue wrongly. But even if he isn’t unanimously on top, he is certainly well up there. And his defensive coordinator, Jim Schwartz, believes he is still only getting better. And in the presence of some lofty company, at that.
“He just continues to do stuff. His production is so high, even though he’s a marked man, even though every game plan starts with, ‘Don’t let 95 wreck the game,’ and he still finds a way to wreck games”, Schwartz said of Garrett, via transcript from the Browns.
Against the Steelers on Nov. 21, Myles Garrett joined rare company in posting his seventh consecutive season of double-digit sacks. It is an achievement the Steelers’ T.J. Watt is likely to never reach given his injury-abbreviated 2022 campaign. The two are once against frontrunners for the Defensive Player of the Year Award. For Schwartz, though, there is no question it is Garrett whose name deserves to be alongside the likes of Lawrence Taylor.
“I mean there’s really no other way to put it. Yes, he does”, Schwartz said when asked if Garrett is already in the same company of those who also accomplished the same feat. Nearly every other player who recorded seven consecutive seasons of double-digit sacks is in the Hall of Fame.
“I think he’s just starting to hit his prime. I think he still has a lot left in front of him. The sky is the limit as far as he goes”, he added of Garrett. “When it’s all said and done, maybe you’re not comparing him to those guys, maybe you’re comparing other people to him. And I think that should probably be a goal for him”.
Garrett reached the 10-sack mark on the season with a three-sack performance against the Steelers. While he is coming off a less impactful display against the Broncos, he has the Steelers on tap again. And he could make more history against the Steelers yet again…but more on that another day.
One thing worth remembering about Myles Garrett is that he came into the league at 21 years old. He is only going to turn 29 at the end of this season. While he has nearly 6,000 snaps under his belt, his body is built to last, and time is on his side.
In contrast, Watt already turned 30 years old earlier this season. Some have argued that he, unlike Garrett, is slipping out of his prime. He seemed to address those concerns last time out with one of his best games of the year, though. In addition to two sacks and a forced fumble, he posted season-highs of three tackles for loss and five QB hits.
The last time the Browns played the Steelers, Myles Garrett went out of his way after the game to say he had a point to prove. While he didn’t say it directly, he wanted to prove he was better than T.J. Watt. That was easier to say after the day he had—and he made no mention of it beforehand. On Sunday, Watt has the opportunity to offer a rebuttal. Even though he’ll surely say he doesn’t care. (He does.)
