Myles Garrett makes early appearance on NFL’s Top 100 list

The NFL Network began its annual list of the league’s Top 100 players on Sunday night and Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett made a surprisingly early appearance.

A year after being at No. 49 on the list, which is created through a poll of current NFL players by NFL Films, Garrett comes in at No. 80.

It is a bid odd, in a way, to see Garrett take such a drop after a season that saw him post 10 sacks in 10 games, making him the first player in franchise history to have more than one double-digit sack season.

But the fact that the video montage put together rather quickly discusses the incident with Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph that led to a six-game suspension for Garrett may tell part of the tale about the low ranking.

While the low ranking may be a source of some extra motivation, Garrett, who recently signed a five-year contract extension that makes him (temporarily) the highest-paid defensive player in the league, said at the time that he is not concerned about what anyone outside of the team thinks of him, according to clevelandbrowns.com:

“I’m just going to keep on playing my game. I’m not going to worry about what people say or what they do. If somebody comes at me, I walk away, put my hands up or whatever I do to nullify the situation. I know my teammates will have my back to de-escalate and keep it straight to football.”

In 37 career games with the Browns, Garrett has posted 30.5 sacks and become one of the league’s best defensive ends. He had 10 sacks in 10 games last season, putting him on pace to break Reggie Camp’s franchise record of 14 sacks in a single season, a number that should once again be in jeopardy in 2020.

Overall, Garrett has 104 tackles, including 32 tackles for loss, since joining the Browns as the No. 1 overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Garrett is the first of four Browns players that will reportedly be on the list, according to Nate Ulrich of The Beacon Journal. Running back Nick Chubb should be a lock for a spot, and wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry should be in the mix as well, as could free-agent signings Jack Conklin at right tackle and Austin Hooper at tight end.

The rankings will continue tonight at 8 on the NFL Network.