Is Myles Garrett the mid-season Defensive Player of the Year?
Myles Garrett is a freight train that refuses to be halted and the long list of quarterbacks who feature on Garrett's sack t-shirt can attest to that. The Cleveland Browns' defense is allowing their opponents only 17.3 points per game on average and are carrying the team.
Right now the Browns occupy one of the three AFC Wild Card spots, as the AFC North is looking strong this season. Myles Garrett is joint second in sacks (9.5) this season with Pittsburgh Steelers star, T.J. Watt. Danielle Hunter of the Minnesota Vikings is a half-sack ahead of the rest of the pack entering Week 10.
The Browns defense forced a shoutout on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals and has held two other opponents to just 3 points twice this season. Cleveland's number 95 put up 5.5 sacks in those wins against the Cardinals, Tennessee Titans and Cincinnati Bengals.
The win against Indianapolis was the finest hour in Myles Garrett's season. Garrett sacked Gardiner Minshew twice and also had two forced fumbles for good measure. The field-goal block captivated many people across the globe, and the Cleveland Browns won that game by one point.
Given his form, Garrett is probably the midseason DPOY winner, but the competition is fierce, especially from Watt.
Since the rookie season in 2017, Myles Garrett has put up 10+ sacks every single season since. Back-to-back years of 16 sacks in 2021 and 2022 showcased Garrett is showing no signs of fading away. There have been many good pash-rushers this season as NFL scoring is down this year across the board.
Myles Garrett is locked up as a Brown until 2027 and has been more impactful than Deshaun Watson on the field. Garrett is certainly among the top candidates for DPOY and if he can keep up his form, he has a real shot at taking the award home.
Myles Garrett is 9th in sacks among active players
Myles Garrett's 84 career sacks are enough to rank ninth among active players. T.J. Watt and Garrett are eighth and ninth respectively and will only continue to climb.
Every player above Garrett has been playing in the league since 2014, including the great Calais Campbell, who earned his 100th sack a few weeks ago and has been playing since 2008.
Von Miller, Cameron Jordan, and Aaron Donald don't have a whole lot of years left in them, whereas Garrett is only 27. He could catch Von Miller's (123) current record by the time he hits 30, presuming he can stay injury-free.
If the Browns superstar can continue to dominate into his 30's the record (200) held by Bruce Smith could potentially be within reach. Of course that would require Garrett to continue his 10+ sacks a season streak, but from what we've seen he seems certainly up to the task.