As a No. 1 pick, expectations can be burdensome. Freddie Kitchens knows this, and so does Myles Garrett.
Some don't live up to a top pick's expectations; others do. Once in a while, a few blow them out of the water. Edge rusher Myles Garrett, the No. 1 pick by the Cleveland Browns in 2017, lived up to them but didn't blow them out of the water. He's recorded 20.5 sacks in two seasons — including 13.5 in 2018 –, made the Pro-Bowl in 2018, and is on Defensive Player of the Year watch heading into 2019.
But, he's far from peaked and can be more than a future sack leader or star. Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens agrees as he told Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot,
Myles is good, but Myles has aspirations to be more and I want him to be more because he can be more.
2019 may be the year of Garrett. Despite his success in 2018, which earned him the distinction of being the 49th-best player in the NFL as voted by his peers, he was limited by former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, according to an interview with Bleacher Report's Dan Pompei.
Gregg [Williams] was more like: ‘You win with these two moves. I don’t want to see anything else out of you.’ It’s kind of hard with two moves. I feel like you can’t always be so predictable. — You have to mix up what you’re doing. Sometimes you have to stutter step, sometimes you have to spin inside, you have to run some games. You have to have some freedom to throw different looks at them, and we didn’t always have that.
Luckily, the Browns have enlisted Steve Wilks to help Garrett take the next step. At his introductory press conference, the defensive coordinator noted that he would do so. As Wilks said:
Myles is a very talented individual. I’m excited about working with him and trying to really get him to that next level.
Follow Us
Subscribe
