IDP 20/20: Myles Garrett

Mo Brewington Posted On February 18, 2017

Welcome to the IDP 20/20 series. Alongside our offensive Dynasty Scouts coverage, we will also be profiling and providing 20 facts you must know about 15 of the top incoming IDP rookies in the class.

1.) Name – Myles Garrett

2.) College – The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (a.k.a. Texas A&M)

3.) Height/Weight: 6-foot-5, 262-pounds

4.) Birth Date – December 29, 1995 (21-years-old)

5.) Class – Junior (Became a starter midway through his freshman season.)

6.) College Stats –

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2016 – 33 Total Tackles, 15 Tackles For Loss, 8.5 Sacks

Career Stats – 141 Tkls, 47 TFLs, 31 Sacks

7.) NFL Draft Round Projection – First round. He should not escape the top three.

8.) Current NFL comp – Jadeveon Clowney/Julius Peppers

Comparisons between Garrett and his fellow A&M alum Von Miller are commonplace. Miller, however, was a twitchier athlete in college who looked comfortable playing in space. Watching Miller’s final year at A&M, he looked like a great fit, regardless of whether he lined up at defensive end or outside linebacker in the NFL. The same can not be said for Garrett.

After Miller, Julius Peppers and Jadeveon Clowney are the next most frequent comparisons drawn to Myles Garrett, but in fairness, Garrett is his own player. Clowney had a similar build, but was a more powerful player with a broader array of moves. He lacked Garrett’s motor, however, and struggled through two years of injuries prior to his breakout campaign last season.

Peppers was a freak of a two-sport athlete in his time. At North Carolina, he played around 20 pounds heavier than Garrett played in college, and Peppers also dropped into coverage more often. This trio of pass rushers have managed to translate their skills to the NFL game. Myles Garrett will have to find his own path to greatness within the confines of his eventual team’s scheme.

9.) Worst possible destination – Any team which envisions him as an outside linebacker

Could Garrett be successful as an outside linebacker in a 3-4? Sure he could. Is this where we want to see him play in the NFL? Absolutely not. Any scheme which forces him to regularly defend the pass instead of attacking the passer will limit his IDP output. He’s a great athlete. There’s no reason to doubt he’d catch on… eventually. Still, why waste time trying to make a lion grow wings and fly?

The Chargers selected Joey Bosa third overall last season, and as a 3-4 team, had to decide the best way to deploy him. The rookie benefitted from the amount of time San Diego spent playing four-down lineman in sub-packages, and made the Bolts look brilliant by posting 10.5 sacks over his 12 games played. When injury precipitated the need for Bosa to play some OLB, he answered the call, and played well. Whether Garrett can have a similar impact remains to be seen. If he’s asked to convert his game, however, the odds of a speedy return on your IDP investment decline sharply.

10.) Best possible destination – Cleveland Browns

After giving up over 25 points in all but three games, the Browns chose to move on from first-year defensive coordinator Ray Horton, and his 3-4 defense. In his place, they hired Gregg Williams, who runs a base 4-man front. What makes the decision to convert to a 4-3 particularly interesting is an Adam Schefter report from December, in which Schefter quotes a source close to the team who claims the Browns have an “astronomical grade” on Myles Garrett. Combined with the discussion above (about maximizing Garrett’s ability to play on the attack,) it makes sense for the Browns to convert to a system that accommodates his strongest talent.

Cleveland has assembled the building blocks of a strong front seven over the last two years. On the defensive line, offenses often have to combo block Danny Shelton to keep the mammoth defensive tackle from playing on their side of the football. Defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah played the fourth most snaps of any Browns’ defender during his rookie season, and led the team in sacks with six.

Offensive lines will have to worry about keeping Shelton from penetrating and slowing Garrett’s momentum on the outside, while Ogbah benefits from the extra attention both of these players garner. Now throw Jamie Collins into the mix, blitzing from his linebacker spot, and you begin to see the makings of a pass rush the Browns haven’t had the luxury of since Clay Matthews Sr. and Reggie Camp were in the trenches. This may not be the best situation Garrett could wind up in, but it is the most likely, and has some potential to create IDP producers in the pass rush department.

11.) Best current skill – Speed rushing

Anyone who was cognizant in the 80’s knows “Buffalo Gals go ‘round the outside.” Well so does Myles Garrett. In fact, like most of today’s edge rushers, speed rushing around tackles is his go-to move. Garrett’s explosion off the line separates him from his peers in this department, however.

To be fair, Garrett will occasionally rag-doll an offensive tackle, or simply drive him back into his quarterback with the bull rush. But his speed leads to more disruptive plays in the backfield than any other trait.

12.) Skill that needs to be improved – Multiple pass rush moves

Once in while, you’ll get something akin to an inside rush from Garrett as he attempts to power his way through two blockers. Rarely, if ever, does he attempt a swim-move, or utilize a spin to shake his blocker. This example, against Laremy Tunsil, stands out as one of the rare occasions Garrett tried to sell an inside/out rush. The end result is hilarious, however, as Tunsil is preparing to get out on a screen, and content letting Garrett shadowbox his way up field.

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The tackles he’ll face in the NFL will have consistently better footwork and strength than the players Garrett abused in college. If he fails to develop a stronger arsenal of set up moves and counters, he risks becoming an ineffective, one-dimensional pass rusher at the next level, which destroys his IDP value. For what it’s worth, Ole’ Miss tried to run an identical screen pass on Garrett later in the game. This time, the sack-artist sniffed it out, and made the Rebels pay for trying him twice.

13.) Projected dynasty value – Garrett’s highest value will be in sack-heavy scoring systems. He should be expected to average between 35 and 50 tackles per year, while challenging for double digit sacks. If he maxes out his talent we could get a run of strong sack production within two-three years, but expecting a Bosa-type return in year-one is bit optimistic. If you play in a tackle-heavy format, or if Garrett gets designated as an outside linebacker, he becomes a very risky proposition for owners, who will likely have to draft him early based on the hype factor, alone

14.) The “Lower Leg” Injury – Myles Garrett struggled through a “lower leg” injury suffered four weeks into the 2016 season. It appears the team wasn’t 100% forthcoming about the nature of the ailment, as the internet is riddled with conflicting reports stating it was anything from a high ankle sprain, to a foot, or knee injury. Whatever the cause, he would miss three games during his final year at College Station.

Considering the time he lost, his stats didn’t take a massive hit. But watching the difference in his “get off” and inability to disengage from blockers, it’s obvious he was not the same player. To get a better sense of his true capabilities, it’s best to evaluate tape from his sophomore campaign, in 2015.

15.) Gregg Williams in at DC – The Browns hired Gregg Williams to replace Horton as their defensive coordinator. Williams, fresh off a three-year stint coaching the Rams, is tasked with converting Cleveland’s 3-4 front into his own rendition of a 4-3, which the coach characterizes as a mix between George Allen, Bud Carson, Dick Lebeau, and Buddy Ryan’s defensive philosophies.

Williams says his system is built around focussing on his player’s strengths and hiding their weaknesses. Should Garrett land in Cleveland, we can feel fairly confident the coach will do his best to accentuate the rookie’s pass rushing ability, and limit the amount of time he spends dropping in zones and running assignments that force him into a narrower learning curve.

16.) Feats of strength – Myles Garrett could easily skip the upcoming Combine, knowing his status as a top three pick is practically in the bag. Instead, he’ll head to Indianapolis, and show off his talents for the evaluators. He’s expected to run a 4.5 second forty, and excel in the vertical jump as well. As long as the “leg” injury is fully healed, he should put on a show.

For a point of reference, Vic Beasley played at 235-pounds at Clemson. He showed up to the Combine weighing 246 lbs, and still put down a 4.53-second forty, with 35 reps on the bench. Although teams love to see a highly-touted player like Garrett show up to these events, he’s taking a bit of a risk by competing as his stock literally has nowhere to go but down.

17.) Freak of nature – While the type of analytics we see equating player speed in miles per hour usually has very little use in fantasy football, this one perhaps may. Back in November, Myles Garrett was clocked running 21.5 miles per hour in practice. This type of speed is typically seen out of wide receivers running in the open-field. Where Garrett’s concerned, it’s eye-opening to think how that speed translates to him chasing down a QB trying to scramble out of pressure. Very few passers in today’s game are equipped to escape with Garrett in pursuit.

18.) Beating up on the little guys – Garrett played 34 games in three years at A&M. In that time, he compiled 47 tackles for loss, and 31 total sacks. Only 14 of those games were played against ranked opponents, however. And in those 14 contest, Garrett managed just 15 tackles for loss and two sacks. That averages out to just 1.07 TFLs per game, and a measly 0.14 sacks per contest. His rate against unranked opponents was 1.6 TFLs per game, and 1.45 sacks per contest.

19.) When you wish upon a star – Last week, Myles Garrett put out a video, pleading with Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones to trade Tony Romo to the Browns along with however many picks it would take to acquire the rights to the first overall pick and select him. A Dallas native, Garrett obviously grew up a fan of the team, and was making one last gasp to join his former collegiate rival, Dak Prescott, as the QB tries to return the franchise to its long-lost glory days. Garrett may have to wait until he becomes a free agent to make his dream come true, as the Browns would be out of their minds to pass up a potentially franchise-transforming player in exchange for an aging quarterback on his last legs.

20.) Sneak peak – The following is perhaps Myles Garrett’s best game for Texas A&M, from the 2016 season against Alabama. Garrett had seven total tackles, including three tackles for loss, albeit, in a losing effort, against the Crimson Tide. Still, he was playing just three weeks removed from suffering the “lower leg” injury which hampered his junior season, and gutted out a respectable game against the eventual National Championship runners-up. Enjoy.

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