Cleveland Browns

Myles Garrett believes Browns coaches limited him in 2018

The Browns coaching staff only let Myles Garrett use two pass rushing moves and he still secured 13.5 sacks. He’ll be unleashed in 2019.

Most NFL edge rushers would be happy to notch 13.5 sacks in their sophomore seasons. That’s not true for Myles Garrett. He’s counting on the new Browns coaching staff to take the shackles off of him in 2019.

Specifically, Garrett wants the new defensive staff to give him a lot more flexibility in how he rushes the passer this season. According to the former Texas A&M star, former defensive coordinator restricted him to just two pass moves last season. This year, Garrett hopes to have the “freedom to be the player I want to be.”

It’s clear that Williams philosophy was to get Garrett to stick to the moves that worked best. It’s hard to argue with the production it led to in 2018. He was a nightmare to handle off the edge for opposing offensive tackles. Players don’t rack up double-digit sacks by accident.

With that being said, limiting a modern edge rusher to a pair of pass moves is a draconian coaching philosophy. Garrett is dead on with his assessment that Williams’ coaching made him “too predictable” in certain situations. It’s obvious that every team in the NFL knew what Garrett was going to do given the amount of film study that occurs in the modern game. It’s miraculous that Garrett was still able to produce consistent pressure off the edge even when opposing offensive linemen knew what was coming.

Assuming Garrett doesn’t stray too far from his best moves in 2019, it could be a banner season for the former No. 1 overall selection. That’s especially bad news for the rest of the AFC North. Trying to protect their quarterbacks from Garrett’s wrath twice per season is going to present a massive challenge to the Bengals, Ravens and Steelers.

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If Garrett does blossom into one of the top edge rushers in the game this season, it will almost certainly due to his newfound freedom. Becoming a more unpredictable player is going to lead to more success for the dynamic edge rusher in 2019.

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