Cleveland Browns: Myles Garrett is becoming a top-tier defensive player

Myles Garrett is quietly having a great season for the Cleveland Browns, and he is becoming one of the league’s best defensive players.

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett is not always visibly making an impact during games this season, but he has been a problem for many offenses.

Garrett has compiled 25 total tackles, six tackles for loss, eight sacks, three forced fumbles, 15 quarterback hits, and three passes defended in eight games this season.

Hie eight sacks is currently tied for second best in the league, trailing league leader Aaron Donald by only two sacks. But Garrett is doing so while being double-teamed at a high rate.

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The fact that Garrett has eight sacks while being double-teamed on more than a third of his pass rushes is outrageous. And the fact that offenses are forced to double-team him off the edge goes to show how much focus offenses have to put on Garrett.

There have been times this season when Garrett is not creating as many problems for the quarterback as usual. How often he is double-teamed is the exact reason why he is not always in the backfield. Garrett is also playing almost every defensive snap, and he is usually shows visible signs of exhaustion late in games.

Garrett has had more than one sack in three of the eight games this season. He also has already surpassed the amount of sacks he had last season in three less games – although he was hampered by injuries the entire 2017 season.

But not only is Garrett a dominating pass rusher, but he is one of the best run stoppers off the edge. Garrett currently has a 81.9 run defense grade from Pro Football Focus, which is the ninth best among edge players.

In just his second season, Garrett is quickly becoming one of the most dominating defensive players in the entire NFL. He is credited with having multiple pass rush moves that offensive linemen can not stop, as most pass rushers have only one or two pass rush moves.

As he continues to get experience and his game grows, he will be contending for many Defensive Player of the Year awards. In fact, he is definitely in contention for the award, and a strong second half of the season could make him the front runner for the award.

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