Quincy Williams Makes Interesting Comparison For Myles Garrett

One of the biggest incentives for a defensive player to sign with the Cleveland Browns as a free agent must be the chance to play with Myles Garrett. The defensive end’s reputation is well known around the NFL, but it’s another thing entirely to see it up close every day in practice and then on the same side of the ball during games.

Quincy Williams hasn’t played with anyone close to Garrett’s ability during his time in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars and, most recently, with the New York Jets. The linebacker only knows what he’s heard and seen on highlights to imagine what it must be like.

Williams, who signed with the Browns this offseason, was asked about playing with his new teammate, and he made an interesting comparison of Garrett to a “unicorn.”

“I don’t have no thought until I see it in person,” Williams said. “Right now, I have an idea of it, and I’m gonna keep it to myself until I see it in person. It’s a great idea. It’s wonderful, compare it to a unicorn.”

That is an apt description, as Garrett is a singularly unique player. Last season, he set the NFL single-season record for sacks, and he was named Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in the past three seasons.

In nine seasons since he was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Garrett has failed to reach double digits in sacks just once, and that was during his injury-delayed rookie year. Over the past five seasons, he has not had fewer than 14.0 sacks in any of them.

Williams, on the other hand, has had a very different NFL path. A third-round pick by the Jaguars in 2019, he had little success there before breaking out with the Jets, posting more than 100 combined tackles four seasons in a row before falling short of the mark last season. In fact, Williams earned All-Pro status in 2023 working under Jets linebackers coach Mike Rutenberg, who was hired this offseason to replace Jim Schwartz as the Browns’ defensive coordinator.

Now, getting a chance to work with Rutenberg again, and with Garrett for the first time, Williams will try to return to an All-Pro level while keeping the Browns’ defense among the best in the league.