How can the DPOY Award to Myles Garrett be justified? — Gregg E., Orlando, FL
There’s plenty of evidence to justify the award for Garrett. Let’s first look at the numbers.
He led the Browns with 14 sacks for the 2023 season, which tied for third-most by a Brown in a season. He was tied for seventh in the NFL in total sacks for the season. Garrett is also the only NFL player to record at least 14 sacks in each of the past three seasons and the only player to record at least 10 sacks in each of the past six seasons. He is the Browns all-time sack leader with 88.5 over his seven-year career.
But sack production is not the only statistic that indicates a defensive player’s effect on the game. It’s the most obvious statistic, but we have to look beyond just this number.
Garrett finished the 2023 season with six quarterback hurries, 16 quarterback knockdowns and 30 quarterback hits. He totaled 37 pressures, alongside his 42 total tackles – 33 of which were solo tackles – and 17 tackles for loss. He also added three passes defended, four forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one blocked kick.
Those stats indicate how he was able to affect quarterbacks throughout the league and how effective he was in the pass rush, as well as create key defensive stops. Garrett played a necessary role in their success in third down situations, as the Browns had the best third down percentage in the league at 29.1 percent, allowing just 67 third down conversions out of 230 attempts.
The blocked field goal kick against the Colts in Week 7 demonstrated another level of his athleticism, as Garrett leapt over the Colts offensive line and jumped to block the field goal attempt.
His impact also goes beyond stats. Teams game plan for Garrett, trying to find ways to take him out of the game. And yet, he still found ways to affect the game. I don’t think we can look past those elements when evaluating his defensive…
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