Myles Garrett is Special, Don't Take Him for Granted

As the calendar turns to November and people are starting to make plans for Thanksgiving, it's time to appreciate just how good Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett is. Despite his world class production through seven games, Garrett isn't getting the love he should and it seems entirely a product of the team's 2-5 record. This game against the Denver Broncos and the fact they will have a third string quarterback and mediocre offensive tackles should provide a great opportunity for the Browns to win this game and have spectators appreciate Garrett's immense talent.

His 10 sacks through seven games are on pace to tie Michael Strahan's single season record of 22.5 from 2001. Whether or not he hits that mark, he's currently tied with Shaquille Barrett of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the race for the Deacon Jones Award, handed out to player who finishes with the most sacks in a season. He could easily surpass the Browns team record for sacks (14 by Reggie Camp in 1984) before December.

It's not just about the sacks. Garrett is a force against the run and being disruptive in general. Teams have to spend significant resources to attempt to slow him or he will single-handedly demolish an offensive gameplan.

If not for penalties, Garrett would've gotten his proper due for how he did just that against the New York Jets. Three penalties in that game, including a pair of flags thrown on hits to quarterbacks, the conversation focused on those and some questioning if he was a dirty player. It diminished what was a dominant performance. Garrett had a similar impact against the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots, but the high profile mistakes made on the offensive side of the ball that lost those games took up all oxygen, understandably.

Garrett is 23 years old. He'll turn 24 at the end of December. He's as dominant a defensive player as there is in the NFL. If the Browns were 5-2, he might be talked about more as a defensive player of the year candidate, despite the fact that defensive player of the year has nothing to do with a team's record.

And as good as Garrett is, he can still get better. In run defense, he will occasionally put himself in position to be taken out of plays as an example. The guy playing across from him, Olivier Vernon, might as good as anyone in the NFL in terms of consistently being in the right spot on any given play. Vernon has been playing outstanding football the last few weeks in his own right, but he may be providing an added value to Garrett in terms of how he sees the big picture of the defense and able to make sure he gets to the spot the offense doesn't want him to be.

This plays into how remarkable is Garrett is as a person. Intellectually curious bordering on ravenous, he is a sponge soaking up information about topics that interest him. It's difficult to imagine he's not learning from Vernon's approach to the game. Garrett's physical tools as impressive as the league has to offer, but he's also one of the league's smartest and combining those two elements with his drive to be the best, he's going to end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Broncos should enable Garrett to showcase his dominance, hopefully penalty free, in a game where the Browns can get a win and give themselves an opportunity to get back in the AFC North divisional race. Should that happen, people should take a second and realize just how special he Myles Garrett is.