MYLES GARRETT: THE BROWNS’ BEST PLAYER AND THE MOST PERPLEXING
By STEVE KING
The best player on the Browns right now?
No, not the most important player, for that is quarterback Baker Mayfield. Quarterback is the most important position in team sports, and if a team has a good one, then it has a chance to be good. But if it doesn’t, then it doesn’t. And the Browns have a real good one – likely a budding great one – in Mayfield, so they have a chance to be good, even great.
For the record, Mayfield is also the face of the team, the face of the franchise. For all good teams, the quarterback has to be that, and Mayfield is on the Browns.
Rather, I’m talking about the best player right now – this moment, this instant – and when that’s the case, it’s defensive end Myles Garrett. He wants to be the NFL Defensive Player of the Year, and he might well be on his way. The guy really can’t be blocked. He’s constantly in the backfield in every game. He disrupts the running game and, even more importantly, is in the quarterback’s face.
The best defensive end the Browns have ever had is Pro Football Hall of Famer Len Ford, who played from 1950-57. He was the top player at his position during that time.
Can Garrett be that type of player? Yes, he can. He certainly can if he keeps working hard, which I think he will do, and if he learns to play under control, which I’m not sure he’ll do. He might, and he might not. But he has to, for these late hits on the quarterback, resulting in costly personal foul penalties, are just killing the Browns and sullying his reputation.
It’s so much so, in fact, that if Garrett is not careful, he’s going to be known as much for – or, sadly, even more so – his late hits than for his ability and productivity. And that would be a shame.
Can Garrett do it? Yes, if he’s willing to listen to his outstanding defensive coordinator, Steve Wilks. But no one can be certain if he will.
We’ll just have to wait and see.
In the meantime, all Browns opponents from here on out, beginning with the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football, are going to do everything they can to bait him into penalties. He has to be stronger than that, strong enough not to take the bait.
