BEREA, Ohio -- To the Cleveland Browns, rookie defensive end Myles Garrett has been as advertised, both on and off the field, since the start of his first training camp in the National Football League.
The Browns knew Garrett, the former standout lineman at Texas A&M, was a good player with the ability to be an impact defender, but what they have come to realize is the pass rusher prefers to do his talking on the field.
According to teammates and coaches alike, Garrett is a quiet kid, one who goes about his business with a quiet, calm approach and a desire to improve his skills every time he touches the field.
“Myles is coming on just like we expected,” defensive line coach Clyde Simmons said. “Coming from whatever was bothering him in the spring, he is showing up. He is doing the same things that I ask of him and everything I ask of him. He is showing flashes every day. He is showing something special every day. I have nothing but good things to think about Myles.”
One of those good things includes running 100-yard sprints after every training-camp practice.
“I didn’t tell him to do that,” Simmons said. “That is one thing I admired about the young man. He does a lot of things on his own. He is not one of those complacent rookies where he is sitting back and just going through the motions of practice. He works at what he is doing, he asks the right questions and he does the right things all of the time.
“That lets me know that he feels like he is not in good enough shape to play our defense. I know he wants to be on the field as much as possible and all of that stuff, but he has to be in great shape to play our defense. If he wants to play as many plays as he is trying to play, he has to be in great shape.”
In 34 games over his three years at Texas A&M, Garrett registered 141 total tackles, including 81 solo stops and 60 assists, with 31.0 quarterback sacks, seven forced fumbles, one recovery, five passes defended and one interception.
After having 11 and 11.5 sacks in each of his first two years at Texas A&M, Garrett registered 8.5 sacks during the 2016 season despite playing much of the year with a high ankle sprain.
In a career-low 10 games because of the lower-body injury, Garrett saw significant dips in productivity as it relates to tackles (33), solo stops (18) and assists (15), as well as forced fumbles (two) from the previous season, but still registered 15 tackles for lost yardage.
And it is that level of productivity that the Browns expect when Garrett gets more work in preseason games.
“Those things will take care of themselves,” Simmons said of Garrett’s practice reps. “He has come here and he is working hard. He is doing everything we ask of him. He is doing some rookie things -- mental errors and all of that stuff -- but that is to be expected. Other than that, he is doing everything asked of him.”
