It’s hard to believe that Myles Garrett is in his 9th year of NFL football after being the number one overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft. Coming out of Texas A&M, I have said many times that Garrett was the best draft prospect I had ever seen, and since he arrived in the NFL, he has proven me right.
In his career, Garrett has already amassed over 120 total sacks, 23 forced fumbles, and is just short of 400 tackles. He logged four sacks in his first three games and has been the most dominant defensive player of his generation. This season, Garrett is having the best season of his entire career and has already surpassed his career high in sacks for a single season with 18. He is on pace to absolutely ruin the 22.5 NFL sack record for a single season and could be on his way to becoming the NFL career sack leader as well.
Garrett had the best game of his NFL career, logging five sacks against the Patriots and the number four overall pick, Will Campbell. In his last four games, he has 13 sacks and has looked utterly unblockable regardless of who opposes him. His dominance this season is like no player before him, and while the Browns have not given fans much to watch, Myles Garrett is must-see TV right now.
It is absolutely clear that Myles Garrett is the best defensive player in the NFL right now, but the question I pose to you is: Is Myles Garrett having the best season by a defensive player we have ever seen?
This is a difficult question to answer as there are many variables that factor into a player’s success, especially on the defensive side of the ball. For a defensive end, it matters who else is on the defensive line, which can impact how much attention you get from the offensive line, or chip blocks from the running backs or tight ends. It can also be impactful how well the secondary plays and if they hold up in coverage long enough for you to get to the quarterback. So today I took a look at some of the best individual defensive seasons in NFL history.
2012/2014 JJ Watt
Watt had multiple 20+ sack seasons, something that has only been done four times by an interior defensive lineman, and Watt accounts for half of them. Watt won DPOY in both years with the Texans and even helped them make it to the divisional round of the playoffs, where they lost to the Tom Brady-led Patriots. His performances in the early 2010s made him arguably the best player in the NFL during that time.
1987 Reggie White
White played before many advanced metrics were recorded in the NFL, but the league ensured that his sacks were accurately recorded. In 1987, White became the first defensive tackle to ever reach 20+ sacks in a season. White was the best defensive player in the NFL for most of the late 1980s and early 1990s, and his dominance likely makes him the best defensive tackle in NFL history. Oh yeah, and he did it all in 12 games.
2021 TJ Watt/2001 Michael Strahan
TJ Watt and Michael Strahan are tied at the top of the single-season sack record books with 22.5, but both come with small asterisks. Watt played in one extra game after the NFL expanded the season to 17 games instead of the original 16, and Michael Strahan was all but gifted his record-breaking sack in 2001. Nonetheless, both players were dominant in their respective seasons 20 years apart, and should be recognised as some of the best individual performances ever.
2018 Aaron Donald
Donald only played ten seasons of NFL football, but despite his lack of volume stats, people cannot forget his dominance in the late 2010s. He logged 20.5 sacks in 2018 and won DPOY with 45/50 first-place votes. Donald may go down as one of the most underappreciated defensive linemen in NFL history because of his short career, but at his peak, few players were better than Aaron Donald.
1991 Deion Sanders
I will never make a list grading individual defensive performances without including Deion Sanders. In my opinion, Sanders is the best defensive player to ever play the game, and because of the lack of meaningful stats for corners in the NFL, people may not realise just how incredible Prime Time was. Deion had six INTs in 1991, and while he had more INTs in ’93, and more INT return yards in ’94, his best play was in 1991.
Sanders only played in 15 games because he had to join the Atlanta Braves for the baseball season, where he also had the best season of his baseball career. But when you see what Deion did on the football field, you know his dominance at the corner position is unmatched. In zone coverage, quarterbacks didn’t even bother to look at Deion’s side of the field, and in man coverage… forget about it. While it may not show up on the stat sheet, Deion was the best defensive player to ever live, and his impact on the football field was greater than anyone before him.
HMs – 1986 Lawrence Taylor, 2019 Stephon Gillmore, 1984 Mark Gastineau, 1990 Bruce Smith
So now, let’s compare those seasons to what Myles Garrett is doing right now. At the current moment, Garrett is on pace for a whopping 28 sacks, a number that would obliterate the current sack record. Let’s assume he slows down a bit and finishes the year with 24, still beating the record by 1.5. How does his season stack up with the other top seasons?
2012/2014 JJ Watt – Watt had a stronger team around him, but dominated from the interior. I would just slightly give the better season to Myles Garrett.
1987 Reggie White – White had an incredible career, and the 1987 season was the best defensive season the NFL had ever seen. And he did it all in 12 games. White was the most dominant defensive player of all time, and unless Garrett surpasses 25 sacks, I think it’s a lock to give the edge to White.
2021 TJ Watt/2001 Michael Strahan – Garrett would break the records both these guys set, and I would argue he is a better run defender than both of them. Garrett wins this one easily.
2018 Aaron Donald – Donald was unstoppable, and had 16 more sacks than the next closest player on his team. He also led the Rams to a 13-3 record on the year and a Super Bowl appearance, where they lost to the Patriots. Because of his team’s success, I give a slight edge to Donald, but it’s very close.
1991 Deion Sanders – This one goes to Deion for every reason I listed above.
So, after going over the best defensive seasons in NFL history, Garrett looks like he will likely finish in the top five for best individual defensive performances ever. If he surpasses 25 sacks, he will likely be in the top 3, and if he stays on his pace of 28, he could argue number one. The Browns are terrible this year, but Myles Garrett is unstoppable, and we are witnessing one of the best individual performances the NFL has ever seen.
