Browns DE Myles Garrett still dominating despite difficult assignments

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett leads the NFL in several advanced pass rusher stats.

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett proved once again to be in a class above the rest of the NFL. The veteran pass rusher pushed his sack total to 8.5 on the year after the Browns’ loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 8, which is tied for third in the league. Garrett also ranks second in quarterback hits with 17 and seventh in quarterback pressures with 21.

But more than that, Garrett is playing well and winning at the line of scrimmage in the face of more difficult assignments relative to the rest of the league.

Garrett’s Pro Football Focus pass rush grade over expectation relative to his blocking assignment outpaces the rest of the position by a sizable margin:

And his pass rush efficiency rate is also atop the league and ahead of other stars like Trey Hendrickson of the Cincinnati Bengals and Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys:

Garrett has done this all, again, in spite of some of the toughest assignments in the league. He’s been doubled teamed 28 percent of the time, per ESPN, which ranks second behind only Parsons. And yet, Garrett’s still managed to win at a league-high rate of 32 percent.

This isn’t new him, though. Garrett’s been one of the best at his positions since the Browns took him No. 1 overall in 2017. And he’s only gotten better with age. Garrett tallied at least 10 sacks in each of his past five seasons and recorded 16 sacks in each of the past two seasons. He finished the past three seasons with at least a 26 percent pass rush win rate, per ESPN, and Garrett’s 83 career sacks also rank second among all defensive players since 2017.

Garrett is clearly one of the best pass rushers in the NFL, and the hiring of Jim Schwartz as defensive coordinator appears to have only ratcheted up Garrett’s ability on the defensive line.

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