The goal for Myles Garrett is to get him to be a well-rounded player, not just chase glamor stats

Jim Schwartz wants to get Myles Garrett more sacks but his run defense is what needs to be worked on.

One of the keys to improving the team defense for 2023 is an increase in depth and control at the line of scrimmage. Defensive tackles were bullied too often to be effective, and Jadeveon Clowney was unable to make the impact needed to justify his contract. Myles Garrett was about as average as possible against the run, and when you combine all those factors, plus smaller linebackers, it’s no wonder the Browns gave up the 8th most rushing yards in the league this year.

In the grand scheme of things, Garrett isn’t “the problem” but that doesn’t mean he can’t still improve. As a pass rusher, he uses his natural strength and speed to get around defenders a lot, but as far as shedding blockers, at least on running plays, he’s not shown to be that dynamic or even efficient.

Considering he can affect the game more often if he becomes a bigger player in stopping the run, it seems odd that defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz wants Garrett to have an increase in sacks of all things.

Myles Garrett has to be more impactful on every play, not just on passing plays

Schwartz runs a “Wide 9” technique upfront. It spaces out the ends so that they’re further on the outside shoulder of the last guy on the line, be it tackle or tight end. This is a risky defense that maximizes faster rushers, but at the cost of bodies up front to defend against the run.

If you have a dominating set of defensive tackles and a stout corp of linebackers, this is a great defense to run. The Browns lack either at the moment. So the onus to get the most out of Garrett will be to improve the defensive tackles and get some size at linebacker. Seems doable, but even in this scheme, the Browns still need to get Garrett to be more impactful against the run.

Now, I’m no blind follower of PFF, but right now it’s the only site that really looks at the difference between performances (pass vs. rush). So we’re going to use them. When it comes to Garrett as a run-stopper, they found he has a very average score of 68.6.

When looking at every player who has 10+ sacks this year, Garrett is just 12th of 19 against the run. That factors in everyone, by the way. Linebackers, safeties, kickers, if they have 10 sacks, they’re being counted.

So where does Garrett fall when it’s just the ends? Well, of the eight “ends” who had 10 sacks, Garrett was just 6th. Maxx Crosby had the highest score against the run with 82.5, with Nick Bosa in 2nd with 81.1. Then we had Josh Sweat (80.5), Cameron Heyward (78.2), and Brandon Graham (71.9).

Garrett only beat out J.J. Watt, who just retired due to age, injury, and performance issues, and Brian Burns, who is on the most hapless team in the NFL, the Panthers. This makes Garrett look pretty poor, as his run defense has always been an issue since coming into the league. Getting to the quarterback is a good thing, but sacks are overvalued as a stat.

Garrett has proven that. He can sack a quarterback three times and the opposing team can still run for 200 yards and hang 30+ points on a team. Now, no one is saying that pressure and sacks are worthless. Constant pressure, not just from Garrett, is needed from the team as a whole. So are the occasional sacks. We know that.

What has to be pointed out is how little impact Garrett has on the game defensively unless he gets a sack. Team’s still put up monster yards in the air and on the ground with him on the field, so clearly just chasing sacks isn’t making a difference.

Getting Garrett to be more invested in the run has to be a priority for Schwartz. It seems maddening that he’s getting paid all this money to only impact one aspect of the defense, while other guys make less, and are better all-around players.