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'Sky is the limit' for where Browns' Myles Garrett ranks among NFL's greatest pass rushers
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- 'Sky is the limit' for where Browns' Myles Garrett ranks among NFL's greatest pass rushers
BEREA — The list first appeared after Myles Garrett's three-sack performance in the Browns ' Week 12 Thursday night win over the Pittsburgh Steelers . That's when it finally became a relevant stat.
The three-sack game gave Garrett 10 sacks on the season. That gave him his seventh consecutive season with at least 10 sacks.
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The only other players since 1982, when the sack became an official stat in the NFL, to have at least 10 sacks in seven consecutive seasons includes just six other names: Lawrence Taylor, Reggie White, Bruce Smith, John Randle, DeMarcus Ware and Jared Allen . That, if you're counting at home, would be five players already in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and a sixth in Allen who's once again a Hall of Fame semifinalist.
"Guys I looked up to when I started my journey into this game," Garrett said Friday. "So, I mean, it's absolutely amazing to be amongst those guys, not just looking up at them but looking side to side and standing amongst them. So I want to continue to find myself on those lists and hopefully stand alone at the end of the day. But the time for reflection is when the season's done."
Smith and White are the top two all-time sack leaders, with 200 and 198 sacks each. Ware's ninth with 138.5, while Randle's tied for 10 with 137.5, Allen's 12th with 136 and Taylor's tied for 14th with 132.5.
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) celebrates after sacking Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (not pictured) for the third time during the first half Nov. 3, 2024, in Cleveland.
So, in other words, the elite of the elite of NFL pass rushers, Hall of Famers or those who are consistently in that conversation. A conversation in which Garrett, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, deserves his place.
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"Well, yes, I mean there's really no other way to put it," defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. "Yes, he does. I think the biggest part of it is he's still … I mean, 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. And when it's all said and done, maybe he's not comparing himself to — or 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."
There's no "probably" about it being a goal for Garrett. The 2017 No. 1 overall pick has already established himself as the No. 1 edge rusher in Browns ' history with a franchise-best 98.5 career sacks, along with the team's single-season mark of 16 sacks in both 2021 and 2022.
It's not just about being the No. 1 overall pick or the No. 1 pass rusher in the Browns' history. As he himself said after the win over the Steelers, Garrett's trying to be the No. 1 edge defender in the NFL.
"Because I think part of my journey of being the best player that I can be is I feel and I think I can be the best player that there is currently," Garrett said. "So I have to live up to those expectations I have for myself. That's really all it is. That's just on the road to be the player that I want be."
The Browns (3-8) are about to go on the road again, looking to build off the win over the Steelers. Cleveland will have had 11 days between games by the time Monday night's game against the Denver Broncos (7-5).
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That's 11 days for Garrett to potentially have cooled off a bit from the three sacks he recorded against Pittsburgh. The last time he had three sacks in a game, Week 9 against the Los Angeles Chargers , the Browns had a bye week followed by a disappointing loss at the New Orleans Saints in which he was held sack-less.
Garrett heads to Denver needing just 1.5 sacks to get to 100 for his career. If he gets it in the next five games, he'll be the first player to reach 100 before he turns 29, which he'll do on Dec. 29.
"I think I still took too long," Garrett said. "In my eyes, when I look at it. It'd have been tough to catch Mr. White, but I think hopefully this next however many number will come quicker than the first hundred. So we'll go out there and we'll do what I do and try to take it up a notch."
The last time the Browns and Broncos played was a year ago in Week 12. Garrett was held without a sack as he suffered a second-quarter shoulder injury that, while it didn't prevent him from playing, prevented him from playing at the level he's accustomed to playing.
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, left, shakes hands with Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson after the Browns defeated the Steelers on Nov. 21, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Garrett did have a quarterback hurry against the Broncos last year, although their quarterback at the time was the same one he sacked three times last game, Russell Wilson . The left tackle, Garett Bolles , remains the same as the one against whom he struggled in part because of the shoulder.
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"Look at the matchup, I wish I would've been able to use some different moves as far as how my shoulder felt," Garrett said. "I think I used what I felt I could at that time and (Bolles is) a good pass blocker and taking nothing away from him. He did well however I was feeling and they made the most of it. … And so myself feeling better and the guys another year of being part of this defense, feeling good, coming off a big win, I feel like guys are ready to help make up for that loss last year."
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Myles Garrett climbing ranks of NFL's all-time greatest pass rushers
