Sam’s Film Room: How Myles Garrett fits in Gregg Williams’ 4-3 Under defense

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The Cleveland Browns picked Myles Garrett first overall in the 2017 NFL Draft. Garrett is an explosive athlete with the length and strength to be a dominant pass rushing threat in Gregg Williams’ defense. At Texas A&M, he frequently dealt with double teams as he is the type of pass rusher that teams have to prepare for in order to execute basic plays.

His one major weakness against the pass is that he frequently doesn’t use a counter move after his initial pass rush fails. This was very evident against Alabama’s Cam Robinson. The second round pick for the Jacksonville Jaguars did a great job all game holding the edge patiently controlling Garrett after the snap. In order to win in the NFL, he will need to learn counter moves and to use his hands better to disengage from his blocks.

The one thing about Garrett that bothers me is that his effort at times is not the best. He definitely took off snaps casually jogging towards the play with no sense of urgency. This was especially apparent versus Tennessee when he could have been the difference maker in order to prevent the game from going into overtime. While it did not happen all the time, it happened enough for me to make a note of it.

For his player comparison, I think DeMarcus Ware from the Dallas Cowboys fits him the best. Ware had incredible talent coming out of school, but also had to learn better counter moves. Once he did, he became a star pass rusher averaging over 11 sacks per season and I can easily see that for Garrett.

This offseason Gregg Williams was hired to be the Browns’ defensive coordinator. Axing the old 3-4 system, Williams will install his 4-3 Under base defense just like he ran with the Los Angeles Rams. As one of the defensive ends, Garrett is a perfect fit rushing at the blindside of the quarterback. This defense looks to be much improved from last season when they ranked second to last by FootballOutsiders.

Looking at the Browns as a whole, they had a very good draft and even received an additional 2018 first round pick when the Houston Texans traded up for quarterback Deshaun Watson. Speaking of QBs, in the middle of the second round, Cleveland took my number one rated quarterback: DeShone Kizer from Notre Dame. I had an early second round grade on him, so grabbing him in the middle of that frame is good value.

Overall, Garrett has Hall of Fame potential if he learns his counter moves and plays through the whistle. Under Williams, he should be utilized all over the defensive line and should make an immediate impact as a rookie.