CLEVELAND — It was Oct. 8, 2017, that Myles Garrett recorded his first sack as a member of the Cleveland Browns.
Less than five years later, the All-Pro defensive end could find himself at the top of the franchise's record book.
After sacking Baker Mayfield twice in the Browns' season-opening 26-24 win over the Carolina Panthers last Sunday, Garrett enters Sunday's Week 2 matchup vs. the New York Jets with 60.5 career sacks to his credit. That puts him just 1.5 sacks behind linebacker Clay Matthews Jr. for the franchise's all-time record of 62 -- a mark he could conceivably meet or surpass on Sunday.
Should the 26-year-old Garrett tie or break Cleveland's career sacks record on Sunday, it would be somewhat poetic as his first career sack came on his first career play against the Jets in 2017. In the time since, the No. 1 pick of the 2017 NFL Draft has established himself as one of the top defensive players in all of football, earning first-team All-Pro honors in each of the past two seasons, as well as three career Pro Bowl selections.
Last season, he set the Browns' single-season sack record with 16.
"He's at an all-time high," Browns defensive line coach Chris Kiffin told reporters of Garrett on Friday. "He's locked in. He's at a different level right now, and it's showing."
Garrett's first 60.5 career sacks have come in a total of 69 games -- while for comparison's sake, Matthews totaled 62 sacks in 232 career games. Entering Sunday, the Browns' top 10 all-time sacks leaders are as follows:
- Clay Matthews Jr. - 62
- Myles Garrett - 60.5
- Michael Dean Perry - 51.5
- Rob Burnett - 40.5
- Carl Hairston - 37.5
- Reggie Camp - 35
- Anthony Pleasant - 33.5
- Chip Banks - 27.5
- Kamerion Wimbley - 26.5
- Jabaal Sheard - 23