Somewhat overshadowed by the franchise-tag deadline deals that did or didn't get done the last two days was a signing of a player that was still two years away from free agency. The Browns made sure they wouldn't have to worry about a contract for Myles Garrett for a while, giving him a 5-year, $125 million contract. He's the highest-paid defensive player in history.
Considering both casual and diehard fans are likely to most associate 2017's No. 1 overall pick with clubbing Mason Rudolph with his own helmet last year, it's a remarkable commitment on the part of the Browns. But aside from that incident, he's been pretty awesome since entering the league.
In his first three seasons, Garrett has 30.5 sacks in 37 games. Over the last three years, only three players (minimum of 15 sacks) have more sacks per game. Garrett also has 65 quarterback hits -- not counting the Rudolph incident -- in those games. Only Aaron Donald has more per game in those seasons.
SACKS/QB HITS, 2017-2019 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | G | Sk | QBH | Sk/G | QBH/G |
Chandler Jones | 48 | 49 | 77 | 1.02 | 1.60 |
Aaron Donald | 46 | 44 | 92 | 0.96 | 2.00 |
Cameron Jordan | 48 | 40.5 | 74 | 0.84 | 1.54 |
Myles Garrett | 37 | 30.5 | 65 | 0.82 | 1.76 |
Joey Bosa | 39 | 29.5 | 61 | 0.76 | 1.56 |
Danielle Hunter | 48 | 36 | 52 | 0.75 | 1.08 |
T.J. Watt | 47 | 34.5 | 70 | 0.73 | 1.49 |
Ryan Kerrigan | 44 | 31.5 | 50 | 0.72 | 1.14 |
Jason Pierre-Paul | 42 | 29.5 | 49 | 0.70 | 1.17 |
Von Miller | 47 | 32.5 | 69 | 0.69 | 1.47 |
J.J. Watt | 29 | 20 | 51 | 0.69 | 1.76 |
Chris Jones | 45 | 31 | 62 | 0.69 | 1.38 |
Justin Houston | 43 | 29.5 | 50 | 0.69 | 1.16 |
Khalil Mack | 46 | 31.5 | 54 | 0.68 | 1.17 |
Calais Campbell | 48 | 31.5 | 77 | 0.66 | 1.60 |
Frank Clark | 46 | 30 | 62 | 0.65 | 1.35 |
Dee Ford | 33 | 21.5 | 42 | 0.65 | 1.27 |
Everson Griffen | 41 | 26.5 | 62 | 0.65 | 1.51 |
Yannick Ngakoue | 47 | 29.5 | 71 | 0.63 | 1.51 |
Mario Addison | 47 | 29.5 | 41 | 0.63 | 0.87 |
DeMarcus Lawrence | 48 | 30 | 65 | 0.63 | 1.35 |
Cameron Heyward | 47 | 29 | 63 | 0.62 | 1.34 |
Shaquil Barrett | 45 | 26.5 | 56 | 0.59 | 1.24 |
Robert Quinn | 45 | 26.5 | 49 | 0.59 | 1.09 |
Ezekiel Ansah | 32 | 18.5 | 32 | 0.58 | 1.00 |
Za'Darius Smith | 46 | 25.5 | 78 | 0.55 | 1.70 |
Melvin Ingram | 45 | 24.5 | 53 | 0.54 | 1.18 |
Carlos Dunlap | 46 | 24.5 | 66 | 0.53 | 1.43 |
Terrell Suggs | 47 | 24.5 | 44 | 0.52 | 0.94 |
Olivier Vernon | 33 | 17 | 44 | 0.52 | 1.33 |
Bruce Irvin | 45 | 23 | 41 | 0.51 | 0.91 |
Michael Bennett | 47 | 24 | 69 | 0.51 | 1.47 |
Matt Judon | 48 | 24.5 | 72 | 0.51 | 1.50 |
Preston Smith | 48 | 24 | 60 | 0.50 | 1.25 |
Julius Peppers | 32 | 16 | 28 | 0.50 | 0.88 |
Dante Fowler | 47 | 23.5 | 32 | 0.50 | 0.68 |
Geno Atkins | 48 | 23.5 | 49 | 0.49 | 1.02 |
Bud Dupree | 47 | 23 | 37 | 0.49 | 0.79 |
Jadeveon Clowney | 44 | 21.5 | 55 | 0.49 | 1.25 |
Cameron Wake | 39 | 19 | 55 | 0.49 | 1.41 |
Trey Flowers | 44 | 21 | 66 | 0.48 | 1.50 |
DeForest Buckner | 48 | 22.5 | 56 | 0.47 | 1.17 |
Brandon Graham | 47 | 22 | 42 | 0.47 | 0.89 |
Matthew Ioannidis | 44 | 20.5 | 44 | 0.47 | 1.00 |
Akiem Hicks | 37 | 17 | 41 | 0.46 | 1.11 |
Clay Matthews | 43 | 19 | 44 | 0.44 | 1.02 |
Fletcher Cox | 46 | 19.5 | 61 | 0.42 | 1.33 |
Jonathan Allen | 36 | 15 | 31 | 0.42 | 0.86 |
Denico Autry | 42 | 17.5 | 31 | 0.42 | 0.74 |
Jurrell Casey | 45 | 18 | 40 | 0.40 | 0.89 |
Jordan Jenkins | 46 | 18 | 37 | 0.39 | 0.80 |
Devon Kennard | 46 | 18 | 36 | 0.39 | 0.78 |
Vic Beasley | 46 | 18 | 25 | 0.39 | 0.54 |
Grady Jarrett | 46 | 17.5 | 45 | 0.38 | 0.98 |
Gerald McCoy | 45 | 17 | 58 | 0.38 | 1.29 |
Kenny Clark | 44 | 16.5 | 22 | 0.38 | 0.50 |
Takkarist McKinley | 45 | 16.5 | 38 | 0.37 | 0.84 |
Adrian Clayborn | 45 | 16 | 37 | 0.36 | 0.82 |
Kyle Van Noy | 44 | 15.5 | 34 | 0.35 | 0.77 |
Jabaal Sheard | 45 | 15.5 | 36 | 0.34 | 0.80 |
Carl Nassib | 45 | 15.5 | 33 | 0.34 | 0.73 |
Vince Williams | 44 | 15 | 33 | 0.34 | 0.75 |
Jerry Hughes | 48 | 15.5 | 38 | 0.32 | 0.79 |
Garrett's play hasn't yet had a transformative effect on Cleveland's defense. The Browns haven't ranked higher than 20th in sacks in any of those years. But maybe keeping Garrett on the field for all 16 games (he's missed 11 total his first three seasons) will make a difference. They're certainly paying him to be that guy.
--Andy Richardson