CLEVELAND -- Myles Garrett is no stranger to making plays in opposing backfields, and Cleveland Browns interim coach/defensive coordinator Gregg Williams believes the second-year defensive end is close to building on his already impressive resume.
According to Williams, Garrett is not far away from forcing more turnovers and making more game-changing plays for the Browns’ defense.
“I think he is very close,” Williams said. “I think it is instantaneous when it could happen. Some of the great plays he has had in the pocket already have just been fractions of an inch of where he is attempting and making the attempt at the ball.”
Forcing turnovers is something Williams has been masterful at generating from his players throughout his career, and his placing an emphasis on jarring the ball loose has only gotten stronger with time.
“We say a sack is great, but it is not perfect until the ball is out,” Williams said. “We want a sack and a caused fumble. Those are the things we are looking at because the quarterback, it is the toughest to secure the ball when you are in pocket and have to block everybody out and go ahead and throw the football.
“Really, the most poor ball security is on that particular player. We want more production that way, and he is doing a really good job of crushing and getting to the pocket and continuing to get those sack production things. We just have to get the ball out.”
This season, Garrett has registered 32 total tackles, including 26 solo stops, and of those 32 plays, 11.5 have been sacks on opposing quarterbacks for 73.5 lost yards.
Currently, with 18.5 sacks, Garrett has registered the most sacks by a Brown in the first 23 games of his career and is tied for the most by a defender in the first two seasons as a professional. Garrett is tied for fourth in the NFL with 11.5 sacks and is among the NFL’s leaders in forced fumbles.
“He is capable of doing that, and we have some time left to get it done,” Williams said. “I have had the luxury and the honor of being around some guys like that on other teams that could do that. One of the ones that is out there right now getting all of the publicity is (Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle) Aaron Donald.”
In order to have Garrett continue honing his craft, even when he is away from the facility, the Browns have had him watch footage of Carolina Panthers defensive lineman Julius Peppers, who turned a basketball scholarship at the University of North Carolina into a prolific pass-rushing career in the NFL.
Currently in his 17th NFL season and 10th with the Panthers, Peppers has registered 158.5 quarterback sacks, which rank fourth in league history since sacks became an official statistic in 1982.
Peppers has registered more sacks than several enshrines in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, including Jason Taylor, Chris Doleman, Richard Dent, John Randle, Lawrence Taylor, Rickey Jackson and the late Derrick Thomas.
“Those are the types of things that you want those particular skill set kind of guys to do, and those are point-producing plays,” Williams said.
“We need to take the next step with that. He can do that and will. It is not that he is not trying right now. It is just a little bit different than some of the position areas he is playing in as opposed to some of the other guys.”
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