Browns Rookie Profiles: Myles Garrett
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Pick: Round 1, Pick 1
Position: Defensive End
School: Texas A&M
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 272 lbs.
With the first pick in this year’s NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns surprised few people when they selected Myles Garrett. With the size and speed to go along with his impressive track record at Texas A&M, Garrett was widely regarded as the best talent in this draft class. While thousands of mock drafts were sent flying around the internet in the last few months, a great majority tended to say the same thing: the Browns would be foolish to pass on Garrett.
Despite the rumors saying the Browns were considering QB Mitch Trubisky at No. 1 overall, they went with the popular pick, making Garrett the 17th defensive player picked No. 1 overall.
What makes Garrett so good? First of all, it is his body.
Listed at 6’4” and 272 lbs., certainly does not lack the mass to go up against NFL-caliber offensive tackles. With a lethal combination of size and strength, Garrett has the ability to bull rush his matchups and simply overpower them.
However, for a team to take a defensive end at No. 1, that player has to have a lot more than just strength. Today’s NFL is putting a greater emphasis on hybrids: players who combine strength and speed to make themselves more versatile on the field. Garrett epitomizes what it means to be a hybrid in today’s NFL.
While speed is dictated by more than one’s performance at the combine, it can’t hurt to post a good 40-yard-dash time. Among all defensive linemen in this year’s combine, Garrett posted the fifth fastest 40 time at 4.64 seconds. As impressive as that mark is for a 272-pound defensive end, where he really impressed was in the vertical jump.
Garrett recorded a 41-inch vertical jump, a full two inches greater than the next best defensive lineman, a testament to his overall explosiveness and athletic ability.
With an uncommon combination of strength, speed and explosiveness, the two-time All-American has already built a reputation as a hybrid.
“Garrett has blinding speed off the edge and is a natural pass-rusher with rare explosiveness,” noted Walter Football draft analyst Charlie Campbell. “He has ridiculous speed and a developed body with natural strength.”
Even No. 1 picks have their flaws, though.
Garrett’s strongest season at Texas A&M was in fact his sophomore year in 2015, when he emerged as one of college football’s premier talents. Last season, however, he missed three games from an ankle injury that might have impacted the rest of his season as well.
“Garrett had a frustrating season,” ESPN’s draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. wrote. He was “hampered by a high ankle sprain he suffered in late September and his sack numbers (8.5) were down from his freshman (11.5) and sophomore (12.5) seasons.
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