NFL record likely to fall No. 2: Sacks
Current record: 22.5 — Michael Strahan in 2001, T.J. Watt in 2021
T.J. Watt nearly did it in 2021. Michael Strahan set the NFL sack record back in 2001 as he had a monster season following two years of missing out on double-digit sacks.
Strahan, a second-round pick in 1993, had 29 sacks in 1997 and 1998 but then recorded just 5.5 in 1999 and 9.5 in 2000. But then in 2001, he went off with 22.5 sacks which was an untouched record until T.J. Watt went off this past season.
Watt, who has had at least 13 sacks in every campaign since his rookie season, recorded 22.5 for the Pittsburgh Steelers. And what’s more impressive is, he didn’t need 17 games to accomplish this.
The 27-year-old Watt actually missed two games on the season and recorded his record-tying statistics in just 15 games. That’s why he’s the top player to watch in 2022 as a potential new sack-master.
Another name to keep an eye on is Myles Garrett. The Cleveland Browns defensive end has continued to be a dominant force and had 16 sacks a season ago. He will again have some attention taken away from him with Jadeveon Clowney coming back as well as the addition of Chase Winovich. That could be enough for him to take another huge step forward.
Players most likely to break the record: T.J. Watt, Myles Garrett