Disliking Myles Garrett's Leadership Style Doesn't Mean he's not Leading
Last week, John Suschan of Dawg Pound Daily put out an article with the headline "Browns' Myles Garrett really isn't the leader we'd imagined he would become" and in the article, tries to back this point up -- as one does. Suschan goes back to Garrett being drafted #1 overall and references that there were questions of him coming out of college as to whether he loved football enough, due to his demeanor and how he often talks about life after football and his interests outside of the sport such as poetry, Marvin Gaye, Dungeons & Dragons, and more. It was a pretty silly argument then, and it still is now.
This isn't the first time that Garrett's leadership has been questioned by Dawg Pound Daily: back in May, after it was reported that Garrett would not be attending voluntary OTA's, they released an article "Myles Garrett continues to show lack of leadership." Voluntary OTA's. Garrett isn't the first star player to skip voluntary OTA's, and surely he won't be the last. Yes, it is true that this off-season the Browns are installing a new defensive scheme and so it's a pretty big off-season. However, the key thing to remember here is this was only the voluntary part of OTA's, and there's plenty of time for him to be worked in. Besides, at this point in his career and after numerous coaching changes, hasn't Garrett earned the benefit of the doubt that he can surely learn a new scheme and still produce double-digit sacks?
These articles further point to Garrett saying fans booing was "disrespectful" after their Week 2 loss to the Jets lat year, which is a silly thing to hold over him after an emotional loss. They point to him getting benched himself late last year as a lack of leadership, and of course, his incident with Mason Rudolph.
The problem, specifically, with continuing to hold the Mason Rudolph confrontation over his head, is it was undeniably out of character. Up until that point, Garrett had no violent incidents or even close to an outburst similar, and since then the same is true. We may never know whether Rudolph instigated the incident by calling Garrett a racial slur, but we do know that Garrett typically has a pretty cool and level headed. Anyone else remember when he was in his car and a fan pulled up next to him, took a picture with him, then punched him in face and this was his response?
Unfair to single out Dawg Pound Daily, it's worth noting that others have also criticized Garrett -- some even this off-season. Terry Pluto of cleveland.com, for example, said that he needs to step up off-the-field, highlighting some of the aforementioned complaints while also noting that there were rumors towards the end of last year that he received "special treatment."
Truthfully, this feels like an attack on a player during the slowest parts of the off-season, and almost every single one of these complaints thrown his way could have been said about the great Joe Thomas. Perhaps part of the problem here is expectations on what a "leader" looks like, or what some may want one to look like, without taking into account the nuance of there being different leadership styles. Garrett, for example, naturally is a more introverted person and thus his leadership style may be different than what people think it should be.
However, when push comes to shove, Garrett has never shown reluctancy to step up and be that leader the Browns need him to be. After week 2 back in 2021, he called on teammates to step up -- to which they responded with a historic performance against the Bears, in which Garrett racked up 4.5 sacks himself. Later on in that same year, he mentioned that he didn't feel like players were practicing with enough urgency during the bye week. The Browns came out of that bye and proceeded to beat the Baltimore Ravens.
Even going back to last year, Garrett has done his part to hold others accountable and show moments of leadership with young players, specifically Perrion Winfrey last year. Even when asked about Jadeveon Clowney's contentious ending with the Browns late last year, Garrett took the high road every chance he got repeatedly stating he wishes it could have been handled behind closed doors.
Off the field, Garrett has often made turned his love for poetry and writing into a way to give back to the community of Cleveland. He's been captain of NFL Waterboys since 2019, a charity program that helps to provide access to clean water to communities in the U.S. and abroad. For Waterboys, he has previously pledged to donate money per each sack he attained, and even at the NBA Celebrity All-Star Game in 2022 raised awareness for Waterboys. Ultimately, thanks to bets with Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley, and Kenny Smith, Garrett was able to use his appearance at this All-Star game to raise $21,000 for Waterboys. Furthermore, Garrett has been involved with other philanthropic efforts with the Alzheimer's Association, serves as a community ambassador for The United Way of Greater Cleveland, has been named NFLPA's Community Weekly MVP numerous times in the past, and even was the Browns' nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 2020.
All of this to say, the former Texas A&M Aggie has been a true leader for the Browns on the field, in the clubhouse, and off-the-field as well. It takes a leader to be able to balance these things and do them successfully, all while avoiding any off-field scandals as well. Perhaps as a fan-base, it's time for Browns fans to stop attacking the best players on the team and try not to run them out of town. The Browns have a true face of the franchise in Garrett, and even if he doesn't always act like a leader in the exact way that some may expect, it doesn't make him any less of one.
