Sacks have been a popular measure of rating the productivity of defensive linemen and linebackers. While Myles Garrett was a top candidate for the defensive player of the year award, his recent dip in sack production unfortunately could get in his way. However, I think sacks are a very overrated stat in this league. They only portray a small fracture of a players impact and don’t reflect the whole pass rush production. While he is experiencing a four-game sack drought, Garrett’s defensive impact may have never been higher.
In this post, I aim to highlight why Myles Garrett remains one of the NFL’s most dominant defensive players. For this purpose, I reviewed every single pass rush snap Garrett took during the last four games. To accurately assess his pass rush win rate, I disregarded his run defense plays and any plays specifically designed to neutralize him, such as screens or rollouts away from his alignment. These plays generally offer little opportunity for a pass rusher to make an impact. Furthermore, I excluded plays where Garrett was utilized as a stuntman, as these rely more on the quarterback holding the ball long enough than actual pass rush ability. This selective analysis aims to emphasize Garrett’s effectiveness in conventional pass rush scenarios, whether facing one, two, or three blockers. It also seeks to illustrate how offenses adapt to his commanding presence
Drawing Attention
Myles Garrett encountered one-on-one matchups in fewer than half of his pass rushing snaps, facing double teams as frequently as he did single opponents (Fig. 1). These double or triple teams include chips and blocks from skill players, not just traditional double teams. This setup illustrates the number of players that were in some shape or form responsible for Garrett on each play. Even before looking into his win rates, it’s evident that Garrett draws immense attention on the field.
Every additional player assigned to Garrett creates a one-on-one situation for one of his teammates. In the case of chip blocks, this results in delays of routes. According to ESPN, among the top 20 edge players with the highest pass rushing win rate this year, only Micah Parsons faces slightly more double teams than Garrett. While this might limit his personal box score production, his presence opens up opportunities for his teammates. Garrett’s defensive impact is a key factor in the Browns’ unit being among the top ten in both sacks and turnovers this year.
Winning Matchups
When facing one-on-one matchups in traditional pass rushing snaps, Myles Garrett impressively won 58% of these matchups (Fig. 2). Even when facing double teams, he still managed to prevail around 20% of the time. This effectiveness often led to teams resorting to triple teaming him. The decision of allocating three players to Garrett, especially when he shares the defensive line with players like Za’Darius Smith and Dalvin Tomlinson, says more about his impact than any of these statistics could. Additionally, Myles is one of the most versatile defensive linemen in this league. His ability to defeat offensive tackles using speed, power, or technique makes him a mismatch in any situation.
During this four-game stretch, Garrett notched three tackles for loss, two pass deflections, and forced two false starts. Objectively, TFLs hold as much value as sacks, though they often don’t receive the same recognition. While my focus here isn’t on his run defense — as mentioned earlier, those plays are excluded from this analysis — it’s important to note that Garrett doesn’t reserve his efforts solely for passing downs but also contributes significantly in the run game. With Ogbo Okoronkwo’s injury, Garrett’s pass rushing snaps have nearly doubled compared to his season average, yet his effectiveness remains consistent throughout games. The league’s highest defensive three-and-out rate also plays a crucial role, giving him time to rest on the sidelines and maintain his high level of performance.
Holding Calls
Myles Garrett has openly expressed his frustration with the scarcity of holding calls in his favor. This frustration becomes very understandable when watching the games, particularly against Jacksonville and Chicago. While identifying holds isn’t always easy from the all-22 film, I focused on the most obvious instances. In these two games, it’s evident that Garrett was held a total of eleven times, yet not a single flag was thrown. I can’t tell you whether that is because the refs weren’t happy with his comments or just feel bad for opposing offensive linemen but it’s something that has to change going forward.
Conclusion
I hope this analysis has shown that the box score, particularly sacks, doesn’t fully capture a player’s effectiveness. Myles Garrett’s defensive impact has consistently been dominant, on a often not so dominant Browns team. It’s encouraging to see this change as the Browns’ defense posts historically impressive numbers, and Cleveland is on the cusp of clinching a playoff spot as early as this week. This season could finally be the one that Garrett gets the recognition he deserves as the leagues top defender.
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