For most of his career, Myles Garrett has been either the best or one of the three best pass rushers in the National Football League. He's somehow reached another level, setting a new mark for the most sacks in a single season (23.0) and establishing himself as a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
However, that hasn't always translated into success for the Cleveland Browns. That's why most people would have understood if he had stayed adamant in his desire to be traded before the 2025 offseason.
The Browns' defense has been among the best in the league for a while now. But as Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report recently wrote, their pass-rushing unit has mostly been a one-man show. Otherwise, he wouldn't have ranked Garrett and Alex Wright as the seventh-best pass-rushing duo in the league.
"Paired with Alex Wright, who himself set career bests in tackles and sacks in 2025, the Browns had 53 sacks last season—third-most in the league," Davenport wrote. "Even if it's Godzilla and Godzooky, the results are the same. Buildings get knocked down."
The Cleveland Browns still haven’t given Myles Garrett the help he deserves
None of this is to say that Alex Wright isn't a solid player. He's an above-average pass rusher, and having him rotate with Isaiah McGuire has worked like a charm in Cleveland. Otherwise, they wouldn't have signed Wright to an extension last year.
But with Garrett, we're talking about someone who single-handedly fought through double (and triple) teams, chip blocks, and uncalled holding penalties to take down quarterbacks a league-record 23 times — and he still couldn't crack B/R's top five. Simply put, the Browns could take scary to a whole new level if they supplied Garrett with a true sidekick.
Granted, there aren't many players who come close to the best edge rusher in the game, but the point remains. It's not an indictment on the defense as a whole, but rather a good way to sum up Garrett's NFL career.
The Browns agreed to terms with A.J. Epenesa before the NFL Draft, but he failed his physical. That shows that they know they must do better in the pass-rushing department to make the most of such a uniquely dominant force like Garrett.
He's a once-in-a-lifetime talent who can take over a game at any given time. He forces opposing coordinators to game-plan exclusively to neutralize him, yet there's only so much they can do. Still, despite being universally recognized as the best defensive player in the league, he's routinely seen his dominance lead to more losses than wins.
Garrett deserves an opportunity to play in a Super Bowl. For the first time in a while, it feels like that might be possible for Cleveland, assuming the team's tantalizing young core can continue to grow and develop over the next several years.
But if consistent playoff contention doesn't happen for this group, the Browns' front office will always carry the shame of failing one of the greatest talents in league history.
Add us as a preferred source on Google