Myles Garrett has been looking like a number one pick
Myles Garrett’s rookie season got off to a slow start because of injury, but he’s looking more and more like a number one overall pick…
Generally, we as NFL fans today are impatient when it comes to young players. As Myles Garrett — the number one overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft — slowly made his way back from injury in his rookie season, many were probably wondering why the Browns passed on quarterbacks to take this guy.
That might still be a valid question given the Browns’ struggles continuing at quarterback and a number of young players at that position looking like long-term answers elsewhere in the league, but Garrett is showing why he was the top overall player in this year’s class.
Look at this play he made on another former first rounder out of Texas A&M, Bengals left tackle Cedric Ogbuehi:
Myles Garrett is proof that aliens live among us. pic.twitter.com/R8qrSJibdv
— Derrik Klassen (@QBKlass) November 27, 2017
Myles Garrett gets a sack against his former college teammate Cedric Ogbuhei. Impressive. pic.twitter.com/8qzrtthlXL
— Kyle Kelly (@ByKyleKelly) November 26, 2017
Remember the classic battle last season between Garrett (Texas A&M) and Cam Robinson, the All-American left tackle at Alabama?
We got a little part two in the Browns’ recent matchup against the Jaguars:
In just 254 snaps, Garrett already has the highest grade of any 4-3 defensive end in the 2017 class from Pro Football Focus.
More from NFL Mocks
- NFL Draft: Ranking the top signal callers of the 2024 NFL QB Class
- 2024 NFL Mock Draft Journal: Cardinals, Falcons tank for USC QB Caleb Williams
- Patriots News & Rumors: Ezekiel Elliott talks fun in Foxboro; Mills to Packers?
- Fantasy Football: 5 reasons Colts QB Anthony Richardson can be a top-end option
- Packers’ Lukas Van Ness will make a Lambeau leap into the NFL in 2023
Despite the incredible pass rush performance this season from division rival and former SEC rival Carl Lawson, Garrett also has the highest grade of any edge defender in general in this year’s class, because of his pass rush efficiency as well as his ability to play the run.
Garrett was the top overall pick in this year’s draft because at the age of 21, he’s able to do things like we see above, throwing around 320-plus pound linemen like it’s nothing. He’s also able to get to the quarterback using speed around the edge despite a frame that would suggest he’d have to take a wider arc.
This guy has the ability to bend around the edge quickly, or beat you with power, and play a variety of positions along the defensive line and excel at all of them. He’s quickly proving why he was the top pick for the Browns, and why they prioritized the best ‘player’ in the draft versus the best quarterback.