Cleveland Browns: It’s Myles Garrett, It Was Always Myles Garrett

Saturday and Sunday at the NFL Scouting Combine confirmed what was largely determined as soon as the season ended—the Cleveland Browns are drafting Myles Garrett.

Since the Cleveland Browns secured the overall top pick of the 2017 NFL Draft, the discussion has been around what they would do with it. Many argue that Myles Garrett, defensive end from Texas A&M, is the best player in the entire class and none of the quarterbacks are close enough to take over him. Others insist that the only option is quarterback.

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Garrett decided to weigh in this weekend by putting some of his immense physical talent on display in Indianpolis at the NFL Scouting Combine. When he finished, Garrett dropped jaws, exceeded expectations and eliminated doubt as to who the best player is in this draft. Garrett still has to do his agility drills in the form of the 3-cone drill and short shuttle, which he will do at his March 29 Pro Day. Those tests are incredibly important to get the full athletic profile and fully determine what Garrett brings to the table.

Despite running a 4.64-second 40-yard dash, Garrett reportedly may run it again at Pro Day because he’s certain he can do much better. Leading up to the combine, Garrett said he had run as well as a 4.43 in training. During the two attempts, he stumbled, which hurt his times and looked awkward to onlookers.

What Garrett did to his satisfaction at Lucas Oil Stadium, he obliterated and made some history in the process.

In 2014, Jadeveon Clowney was an elite prospect and was picked No. 1 by the Houston Texans. Although his career got off to a slow start due to injuries (concerns that he had in college), Clowney was an All-Pro this past season and a force in the playoffs.

Clowney was outstanding in his athletic testing, especially when it came to explosion, which Garrett did complete. Here’s a look at how the two compare in terms of their numbers at the Combine

Those are incredible numbers and showed just how impressive Clowney was as an athlete. But Garrett is better. What’s more, if Garrett does opt to run again and simply runs a comfortable 40, he may well beat Clowney’s mark. Even if he sits on the stumbling 4.64, look at the rest of the numbers.

Garrett put up a dozen more reps on the bench, and both of these guys have long arms, which make it more difficult to do. With six more pounds, he jumped higher (by a good margin) and further than Clowney did, demonstrating better lower body explosion. Going off of last year’s draft, the Browns put a significant amount of value on explosion. Garrett’s explosion at 272 pounds is remarkable.

Emmanuel Ogbah, last year’s second round pick also tested extremely highly in this area, which was a major reason they selected him. Ogbah was also an extremely productive college player with excellent character, which Garrett also brings to the table.

Here’s what Ogbah put up at his Combine workout:

As with the other two, these are good numbers and Ogbah had a promising rookie year with a ton of potential to be better in the coming years. Garrett just happens to be otherworldly by comparison.

The good news is that the Browns will have both of them on opposite ends of their defensive front with Danny Shelton anchoring the middle. As much as the Browns need a quarterback (and they need a quarterback badly), this is a fun situation to have on defense. The conversation is no longer a matter of who the Browns are going to select with the first pick; it’s a question of how is Garrett going to work in Cleveland after they take him with the top pick. Then it’s on to the 12th pick of the draft and the possibilities with the quarterback situation.

Cleveland has to determine which quarterback(s) they like in this class that are good enough to be the 12th pick of the draft, but will still be available to be picked. They have to weigh that against potential quarterback options such as trading for Jimmy Garoppolo from the New England Patriots and perhaps, in the event he’s released, Tyrod Taylor, who is currently with the Buffalo Bills.

The first pick is over and it’s just a question of what number Garrett wants to wear in Cleveland.

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Certain elements of local media may still try to float the idea that the Browns are considering a quarterback at one. Mitchell Trubisky is being floated now because he is a very talented quarterback, but the fact he is from Mentor, OH doesn’t hurt as a story either. No one in the NFL believes that the Browns are taking a quarterback with the first pick. The entire league is planning around the fact the Browns are taking Garrett and they should. It would be criminally stupid not to take Garrett, leaving people to remark, “That’s why they’re the Browns.”

Garrett looks like he was created in a lab with the express purpose of playing football. The result of DNA testing over decades by an amoral scientist named Bertron. This creation would die, be reanimated  and cloned over and over again, slowly evolv—wait, that’s the backstory to Doomsday.

The point is, a player like Myles Garrett doesn’t come along often. The fact that he tested historically well suggests a player like him won’t be seen for another decade or few. Garrett was going to be this type of unique athlete from the time he was in the womb.

He was always going to be a hugely gifted athlete, which is not wholly uncommon. What sets Garrett apart is in addition to having won the genetic lottery, he possesses the intelligence and awareness to understand what he’s doing along with the drive to do it better than anyone else.

Garrett dominated for three years at college and played through ankle injuries this past season—and was still the most impactful player on the field. Opponents had to scheme their entire offense to account for him and he wasn’t healthy. Imagine how much better he can be in the NFL when he is and he has teammates like Shelton, Ogbah, Jamie Collins and Chris Kirksey in the same front seven as he is.

And for those taking part in the outcry about his production, consider this note from Benjamin Allbright:

Next: Cleveland Browns Pre-Combine 7-Round Mock Draft

The Cleveland Browns need a quarterback, but does anyone really believe they are going to let another team have Garrett? Even after this weekend? For any remaining holdouts, let’s call it even and just say Garrett is a quarterback. That way the Browns get the best player in the draft and it’s a quarterback.