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The job of an edge rusher in the modern NFL is to get after the quarterback. Everything after that is a distant second. While fans might clamor for players to be good at everything, teams want their edge rushers to get after quarterbacks and anything else is icing on the cake.
Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett has been elite at what the team wants most from him: Disruption. In just six seasons, Garrett has 74.5 sacks and will pass Clay Matthews and Bill Glass for the most in franchise history with just 4.5 more in 2023.
Where Garrett really succeeds is his ability to turn quarterback pressures (360 so far in his career) into turnovers according to the NFL’s official stats account:
Since being selected #1 overall, Myles Garrett has been one of the NFL's most disruptive players.
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) May 23, 2023
Garrett is one of three players to force 3+ turnovers by pressure in a season 4 times since 2017, and has forced 5 more turnovers than any other player in that time.#DawgPound pic.twitter.com/RAig4WRd2O
It is exciting for Browns fans to see the note on the bottom that new DE Za’Darius Smith is tied for fifth place with DT Aaron Donald. The gap between Garrett and the rest of the league is important to note as well from the chart.
For Cleveland, Garrett has mostly been a one-man show. Last year, DE Jadeveon Clowney was second on the team with 23 pressures, DT’s Taven Bryan (23) and Jordan Elliott (21) were the only other players with more than 12 while Garrett produced 73 by himself.
The Browns are hoping that new DC Jim Schwartz and the additions of Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, Dalvin Tomlinson and Smith will create even more pressure on quarterbacks and give Garrett real help.
Are you surprised to see Myles at the top of this list?
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