Background and career
Myles Lorenz Garrett (born December 29, 1995) is an American professional football outside linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies, earning the Bill Willis Trophy and first-team All-American honors after leading the Southeastern Conference in sacks in 2015. The following year, he was named a unanimous All-American. Garrett was selected first overall by the Cleveland Browns in the 2017 NFL draft. With the Browns, Garrett won NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2023 and 2025, in addition to receiving seven Pro Bowl and five first-team All-Pro selections. Garrett is also the Browns' all-time sacks leader. Following nine seasons in Cleveland, he was traded to the Rams in 2026. He holds the NFL single-season sack record at 23, which he set in 2025.
Garrett attended Martin High School in Arlington, Texas, where he was a letterman in football, basketball, and track. In football, he had 19.5 sacks as a senior and was the 2013 recipient of the Landry Award, given to the top high school player in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Garrett was rated as a five-star recruit by the Rivals.com recruiting network and was ranked as the second best overall player in his class. He committed to play college football at Texas A&M University in October 2013. In track and field, he was a state qualifier in the throwing events, with top throws of 16.01 meters in the shot put and 50.84 meters in the discus throw.
Garrett came to Texas A&M as the #2 overall prospect in the nation. As a true freshman in 2014, Garrett broke the Aggies' freshman sack record of 5.5 in only six games. In only nine games, he broke Jadeveon Clowney's Southeastern Conference (SEC) freshman sack record of eight. Garrett finished the season with 11.5 sacks (second in the SEC), 53 total tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 10 quarterback hurries, and a blocked kick (which teammate Deshazor Everett returned for a touchdown against Auburn). He was a consensus Freshman All-American by USA Today and Freshman All-SEC selection. After the conclusion of the season, Garrett announced that he would undergo surgery to repair torn ligaments in his hand, an injury that occurred in the sixth game of the season, against Mississippi State.
Garrett led the SEC with 12.5 sacks as a sophomore. He recorded 57 total tackles (36 solo), 19.5 tackles for loss, five forced fumbles, and a blocked punt (which came against Alabama). In addition, Garrett recorded his first interception, off his own-tipped ball, in the game against Ole Miss. The season earned Garrett a first-team All-American selection by the Walter Camp Football Foundation and the Football Writers Association of America. Garrett was the Bill Willis Trophy winner as the top defensive lineman.
Garrett's junior year found him limited by injuries. He suffered a high-ankle sprain to his left leg in the fourth game of the season against Arkansas, and did not appear in the games against South Carolina and New Mexico State. Garrett also found his availability limited to third downs in some other games while he recovered from the injury. For the season, Garrett recorded 8.5 sacks, 32 total tackles (18 of them solo), 15.0 tackles for loss, 10 quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles, and a pass breakup. The season resulted in Garrett earning a Unanimous Consensus All-American designation by being voted to the first-team by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, the Football Writers Association of America, the American Football Coaches Association, The Sporting News, the Associated Press, Pro Football Focus, and SB Nation.
On December 31, 2016, Garrett announced his decision to forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the 2017 NFL draft. He was projected to be a top ten selection and was ranked No. 1 on ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr.’s big board. Garrett attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and completed the majority of combine drills, but opted to skip the three-cone drill and short shuttle. Garrett solidified his position as a top ten pick with an impressive combine performance. His 41” vertical jump was the top performance of all defensive linemen, and he also finished with the second-best performance in the bench press and broad jump. Garrett also had the third fastest 40-yard dash of all defensive linemen at the combine, which highly impressed scouts due to his size. On March 30, 2017, Garrett attended Texas A&M's Pro Day and chose to perform the 40-yard dash (4.65s), 20-yard dash (2.71), 10-yard dash (1.57s), and broad jump (10’6”).
