The 2025 NFL Honors kicked-off Thursday night’s ceremony with AP Defensive Player of the Year.
Smart move, getting the most obvious award winner out of the way first.
This year’s DPOY award, of course, went to Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, who joined J.J. Watt as the only player to receive all 50 first-place votes by the Associated Press. His trophy was presented by Michael Strahan, a fitting tribute after Garrett surpassed the NFL’s single-season sack record of 22.5 held previously by Strahan and T.J. Watt.
Garrett dressed for the show, sporting all black attire with a cowboy hat. His remarks likely had the ear of Browns fans who stayed up for the 9 p.m. broadcast, as this is the first we've heard from Garrett since the team’s decision to hire Todd Monken over defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz as its new head coach.
Garrett never said the names Kevin Stefanski, Schwartz, or Monken during his acceptance speech. He also never called out a teammate by name (as he did for offseason training partners Will Anderson and Micah Parsons).
But what he did say about his team spoke volumes, especially when you consider what Garrett was saying around this time last year.
Myles Garrett’s first public comments since the Todd Monken hire left fans buzzing
Garrett made the rounds on Radio Row last year in New Orleans at Super Bowl LIX, engaging in discussions on his desire to be traded to a contender. His tone later changed when the Browns signed him to what was then the richest non-quarterback contract in NFL history.
How Garrett would react one year later, following another 12-loss season, Stefanski’s firing, and the hiring of an old-school, offensive-minded head coach like Monken was anybody’s guess. But Garrett took the classy approach — to the point where fans were beside themselves on social media.
“This didn’t just start with me. It starts with great teammates, great organization, great coaches … I’m thankful for every single one of my teammates who helped me get up here. It’s not possible without them, you know, their blood, their sweat, their tears, everything that we went through. I’m appreciative of that fellas.”
It wasn’t surprising to hear Garrett give his teammates a shoutout, as Browns fans heard him prop up the team’s young talent on a weekly basis this past season.
But “great organization?” That line had NFL fans convinced that Garrett was lying through his teeth.
He was clearly being real, though, and those words are the first sign that Garrett’s on board with the team’s new direction, even with Schwartz’s status in limbo. That’s a relief, as owner Jimmy Haslam told reporters this week that he hadn’t yet spoken to Garrett about the team’s head coach decision.
“Listen, I love Myles,” Haslam said. “I haven’t talked to him since the day after the season, but I’m highly confident that Myles will come in here and break the sack record again … and be a leader of our team.”
Thursday night definitely wasn’t the time to burn down the franchise that drafted him No. 1 overall back in 2017. But after Parsons was traded by the Dallas Cowboys to the Green Bay Packers this past offseason, you never know what could happen in a given NFL offseason. Garrett could’ve fueled speculation by leaving a trail of breadcrumbs to his true feelings at NFL Honors; instead, he chose to use the word “great” three times.
Browns fans can only take Garrett’s words at face value. If their franchise is going to turn things around in the early years of the Monken era, they’re going to need Myles Garrett on the field doing Myles Garrett things.