The Cleveland Browns entered the 2025 season with Myles Garrett anchoring their defense, and his impact remains impossible to ignore.
Even as Cleveland sits at 1-3 and appears more focused on future draft positioning than playoff contention, Garrett’s dominance continues to turn heads.
His pass-rushing ability has been so consistently elite that ESPN analyst Bill Barnwell recently named him among the top three candidates to win defensive player of the year.
“Every offensive playcaller comes into the week with stopping Garrett as the first thing on the game plan. You can read him on a run concept or two, but if you don’t have a plan to stop Garrett, he’s going to ruin your day. The problem is that those plans just don’t matter. Garrett is just so consistently impossible to block. There’s not a better power/speed combination in the game. There are edge rushers who have a great array of moves, guys who have the raw strength to just bull-rush through an offensive tackle and linemen who can just teleport around the edge and beat protections without ever being touched. Being good at one of those three is enough to sustain a career. Garrett is among the elite in each,” Barnwell wrote.
His dominance shows up on film every week. In Week 1, Garrett drove Cincinnati’s Orlando Brown Jr. straight into Joe Burrow, collapsing the pocket with nowhere for the quarterback to escape.
The following week against Baltimore, he maneuvered past Ronnie Stanley as if the star tackle wasn’t there.
Against Green Bay, his relentless pressure left the Packers’ offensive line helpless, finding ways to reach Jordan Love no matter what.
The numbers back up what the film reveals. Garrett leads all edge rushers with a 37.5% pass rush win rate and ranks second with 11 quick quarterback pressures.
He’s tied for sixth with 4.0 sacks and continues disrupting offenses by drawing double and triple teams.
Durability has been a hallmark throughout his career—he’s missed just 15 of 136 games over nine seasons.
His ability to stay on the field and consistently pressure quarterbacks remains critical for the Browns’ defense.
Garrett’s impact comes from a rare blend of power, speed, and technique that leaves offensive coordinators scrambling, making his spot in the DPOY conversation likely to stay for this season.
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