Chiefs ‘Respect the Heck Out Of’ DE Myles Garrett Entering Browns Matchup

While the Kansas City Chiefs' upcoming matchup against the Cleveland Browns may not sound like a scary one on paper, there are certainly some aspects the reigning Super Bowl champions must account for. One of them is the Cleveland pass rush, which is led by Myles Garrett.

Somehow, Garrett is still just 28 years old and won't turn 29 until after the Browns host Kansas City. He's right in the thick of his prime, as evidenced by four Pro Bowl seasons in a row and three first-team All-Pro honors during that span. Just a season ago, Garrett won his first career Defensive Player of the Year award after a 14-sack effort in 16 games.

Garrett's track record speaks for itself, and he's still turning in quality performances in his eighth season in Cleveland. He's perhaps the player to watch on Sunday, which Chiefs head coach Andy Reid seems well aware of heading into the weekend.

“He’s really a good player," Reid said. "Probably a future Hall of Famer, I’d say. He’s a dominant player, and we recognize that and respect that. He’s going to show up, though, and we’re going to show up and we have to play well against him. We have the capability to do that. That’s how I feel, but we respect the heck out of him.”

Although the Browns are 3-10 on the year, you wouldn't know it judging by Garrett's play. He leads a defense that ranks eighth in pressures through 13 games. Additionally, he has 11 sacks and 15 tackles for loss (three shy of his career-high mark with four games to go). According to Pro Football Focus, Garrett is the No. 3 overall EDGE player and holds high rankings in pass rush grade (3rd) and run defense grade (16th). He's the total package, even on a team whose season is clearly going nowhere.

Against a Kansas City squad that sometimes keeps things closer than necessary, a player of Garrett's caliber can wreck a game all on his own. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is excited about the challenge of planning to prevent that.

"Yeah, he’s just really good," Mahomes said. "He’s pretty much good at everything. Just finding ways to get the ball out of my hands when he’s rushing and then whenever we need to take shots down the field, just having extra ways to manipulate – either me manipulate his pass rush or have help with two people blocking him and stuff like that. They have a good defensive team. They have a good football team in general, but especially their defense. It will be a great challenge for us, and we’ll have to go out there and play our best football to win.”

Two things, in particular, are worth monitoring on Sunday. Per NFL Pro, Garrett lines up on the right edge of the defensive line right around 80% of the time this season. That means the Chiefs' primary left tackle – D.J. Humphries or Wanya Morris – will have his hands full. Not only that, but Garrett has the second-fastest get-off speed at the line and has generated the third-most quick pressures this year. That's a lethal combination, especially considering how Morris loses and how rusty Humphries looked early in his season debut. Whoever plays (that hasn't been announced as of the publishing of this article) will need to bring their best.

The Chiefs aren't taking their opponents lightly as they hit the road. A lot of that starts with one of the best defenders of this generation.

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