Browns: Myles Garrett and Za'Darius Smith could have record 2023 season together

The Cleveland Browns made a splash with another big trade last Friday when they brought Za’Darius Smith to town. The defensive end will now be paired with Myles Garrett.

Having Garrett has been one of the best advantages that the Browns defenses have had since he was drafted by them in 2017. For the last couple of seasons edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney had been playing alongside Garrett, but now Clowney is gone in free agency and the team was in search of a new player to fill those shoes.

They found a replacement in a big way with the move for Smith and this new duo is drawing a lot of attention around the NFL. Earlier this week on NFL Network the "GMFB" Morning Show debated if the Browns now have the best duo of pass rushers in the league.

It was noted that both Garrett and Smith have had more than three seasons of 10 or more sacks since 2019. Garrett actually leads the league having had four seasons of 10 plus sacks since 2019.

When you look at the rest of the list of players with multiple years of 10-plus sacks it includes Hasson Reddick, TJ Watt, and Aaron Donald.

The crew on GMFB discussed multiple other teams that could be considered to have the best group or duo. They talked about the Steelers first and TJ Watt being paired with Alex Highsmith.

They then talked about the San Francisco 49ers and Nick Bosa being teamed up with anybody else on the defensive line. The morning show also mentioned the Philadelphia Eagles and all the defensive talent on their team. The Los Angeles Chargers were also a team that was also discussed having players like Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack playing for them.

In Cleveland, Garrett and Smith will now have a chance to claim they are the best tandem. These two new teammates have done some amazing things individually. Can they work together in this new defense of Jim Schwartz, and have stellar seasons again? It will take time to gel as a defense and for these two main players to learn how to play in psych but if they can get there this team will be in great shape.

Clowney, when he was the counterpart of Garrett's in the past never had a season in his career where he went over 10 sacks. But for Smith going over 10 sacks has occurred three times, including a year ago when he was playing for the Minnesota Vikings. I would suspect he will come close to reaching that mark by the season's end.

Garrett has already broken the Browns single-season record with 16 sacks which he claimed in both 2021 and 2022. I imagine he will be shooting to break that this year. He's also had five seasons of 10 sacks or more if you include the 2018 campaign when he recorded 13.5 of them.

Garrett and Smith could be scary good together and that’s not too far-fetched if both can stay healthy, which both have done relatively well over the years. This new duo playing well together could be a huge factor in how the team does in 2023.