Through all of the defensive dysfunction shown by the Cleveland Browns, even Myles Garrett has been caught in the crossfire by media personalities and fans alike. Some individuals do not think Garrett is doing enough for this football team despite returning to the field just one week after getting into a significant car accident.
Just read the replies to this tweet by Jon Ledyard as there are plenty complaining about Garrett:
Myles Garrett not having a sack yesterday was purely a product of Justin Herbert's unbelievable pocket presence.
Garrett beat Jamaree Salyer over and over and over again, and Herbert just constantly avoided him while keeping his eyes downfield.
— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) October 10, 2022
“He doesn’t impact games.”
“No sacks since Week 2 is unacceptable.”
“He is overrated.”
“The Browns need to trade him before his value sinks.”
These are all things that have been found on the internet despite Garrett already racking up 20 pressures in just four games, as he is dominating offensive tackles each week. His tape and the data that spills out based on that tape continue to tell a different story each week. Too many people are too concerned about reading box scores rather than turning on the actual tape.
In reality, Garrett is seeing the highest rate of double teams of any pass rusher in the NFL and is still winning his reps at the rate of the top pass rushers in the league. Yet when there is no threat from the interior, opposing guards do not even have to glance opposite of Garrett, as the star pass rusher is getting chipped and blanketed every pass rush snap.
Time for win rate charts through 5 weeks!
Double team rate at edge (x) by pass rush win rate at edge (y).
-Micah Parsons has taken back the PRWR at edge crown by half a percentage point.
-Huge week from Bradley Chubb puts him in upper echelon. pic.twitter.com/mpSKikVWlG
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) October 13, 2022
Sacks are the sexy stat but are never a reliable metric for evaluating defensive linemen. Instead, look at how often Justin Herbert was flushed out of the pocket a week ago, the number of times he is getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks, and more importantly, how often the two men next to him are getting any penetration at all.
When those box score blinders come off, reality sets in. And the reality is that Myles Garrett could not be doing anything more for this team than he is already doing.
Quite frankly, what more could you want out of Garrett?
