Browns: 5 best defensive players of the regular season

1. Myles Garrett

Myles Garrett had a nice six-game stretch back in the fall. Against Washington, Dallas, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, and Cinncinati, Garrett posted nine sacks and four forced fumbles. Yet, the streaky nature of Garrett did pop back up in the first, eighth, and tenth weeks of the season. He posted just 0.5 a sack in those three games. Then the Browns franchise end caught COVID-19 and any hope of him finishing at the same rate as that six-game stretch disappeared completely.

Garrett missed Weeks 11 and 12 and since his return against Tennessee, he’s only had 2.5 sacks in six games. For anyone else, that’s a fine stat-line, but for the $125 million man, you expect more. In previous years, you could argue that Garrett just fell into a bad slump with that kind of production. That’s not the case this year. You have to give him a pass because COVID-19 isn’t the flu. Once you’ve passed it, it’s not done with you. It persists. It lingers. It damages your lungs like nothing we’ve ever seen.

So there’s no finger-wagging to be had here with Garrett. He’s doing the best he can, especially considering that he’s still undergoing treatment for the damage to his lungs.

If you take out the fact that Garrett’s stats were bunched up, his season totals are nice.

He had 48 tackles, 12 sacks, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and two pass deflections. Not to mention a Pro Bowl selection and a first-team All-Pro nod as well.

Here’s hoping the 2021 regular season sees a motivated and healthy Garrett.