Myles Garrett was expected to dominate the game for the Cleveland Browns due to his sheer physical presence. In a look back to a game against Washington where he was mic’d up, Garrett also shows the importance of in-game planning and adjustments.
Garrett’s athletic testing was off the charts coming out of college. He showed good size and elite athletic traits that make him a physical marvel. His frame is so impressive that he made a tailored suit look like it was painted on at this year’s NFL draft.
As Browns fans are keenly aware, physical testing is only half the battle at the NFL level. Garrett could have been like any number of very athletic players the Browns drafted: Looking the part but failing to produce.
Instead, the Texas A&M product has shown both the work ethic and knowledge of the game to put his physical gifts to use. In a clip from last season, Brandon Thorn of Establish the Run and The Scouting Academy spliced together audio from Garrett talking to Jordan Elliott with game footage proving what he said to Elliott:
Myles talking to Elliott on the sideline after his strip/sack vs. Christian. Garrett mentions that he was setting him up inside with jabs/power. Then in the 4th quarter “ran right by him” because Christian was “sitting back.”
I cut in video of what that sequence looked like here pic.twitter.com/T5zDNf6aAC
— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) October 1, 2020
Thorn does a great job of showing early examples of Garrett doing exactly what he said. First, Garrett uses “jabs and power” moves to try to get to Dwayne Haskins. Some of those moves were effective at moving the quarterback off his spot but they also set up a much bigger play.
In the final clip, Garrett notices the left tackle “sitting back” and knew he was expecting a power rush. Instead, Myles gave him a full-speed rush off the edge, stripping the ball from Haskins and recovering the fumble.
As we shared earlier this week, Garrett’s forced fumbles are already an impressive stat early in his career.
The game within the game, all of the details, matter for a quality team and a great player. Garrett, in this clip and many others, shows that he can use his top-end physical gifts along with in-game planning and adjustments to become the best version of himself he can be.
