Myles Garrett didn’t just win the 2025 AP Defensive Player of the Year award on Thursday night - he left no room for debate. This wasn’t a case of momentum or narrative carrying a player to the podium.
This was dominance, pure and simple. The kind that forces you to rewrite the record books and makes offensive coordinators lose sleep.
Garrett was the best defensive player in football this season, and the league acknowledged it with a unanimous vote - all 50 first-place ballots went his way. Only J.J.
Watt in 2014 has pulled that off before.
Garrett’s second DPOY award is more than just hardware - it’s a crowning achievement on one of the most statistically absurd seasons we’ve ever seen from an edge rusher. He didn’t just break the single-season sack record; he shattered it.
His 23 sacks this year pushed him past the previous record of 22.5, held by T.J. Watt and Michael Strahan.
And it wasn’t just about sacks - Garrett led the league with 33 tackles for loss and tied a career high with 60 total tackles. That’s not just production; that’s disruption on nearly every snap.
Standing on stage at the NFL Honors show, Garrett kept it humble. “I’m thankful for every single one of my teammates that helped get me up here,” he said.
But make no mistake - this was a season where Garrett often had to be a one-man wrecking crew. The Browns struggled to a 5-12 finish, but Garrett’s impact never wavered.
Week in and week out, he was the guy opponents schemed against. Double-teams, chips, extra attention - none of it mattered.
The advanced metrics back up what the eye test already told us. Garrett finished the season as the highest-graded pass-rusher in the NFL with a 93.3 mark from Pro Football Focus.
His overall defensive grade of 92.7 ranked second among all defenders. In a league stacked with elite talent on the defensive side of the ball, Garrett stood alone at the top.
At 30 years old, Garrett is still very much in his prime - and his résumé is starting to resemble that of an all-time great. This was his seventh Pro Bowl nod and his fifth All-Pro selection. He was also a unanimous first-team All-Pro this season, which tells you just how clear-cut his dominance was.
With this latest award, Garrett becomes just the ninth player in NFL history to win multiple AP Defensive Player of the Year honors. And when you look at his career numbers, it’s easy to see why he’s in that elite company.
Through nine seasons - all in Cleveland - he’s racked up 125 sacks and 149 tackles for loss. He’s recorded at least 14 sacks in five straight seasons, a level of consistency that’s almost unheard of at a position where production can fluctuate wildly.
Garrett’s 2025 campaign was a masterclass in edge play. He combined technique, power, and athleticism in a way that very few defenders in league history ever have.
And while the Browns may not have had the season they hoped for, Garrett gave Cleveland fans something to celebrate - and the rest of the NFL a reminder that when No. 95 is on the field, you better have a plan. And a backup plan.
And maybe even a prayer.