In nine years in the NFL, Myles Garrett has become more than just one of the best players at his position in the league. Or the best pass-rusher in the game. He has become one of the best pass-rushers the NFL has ever seen. His 125.5 sacks over that span are the most in league history through nine years. Last year, Garrett tallied 23 sacks, breaking the single-season record.
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Among active players, no one is a bigger threat to Bruce Smith's 200 career sacks than Garrett.
And now, after being traded from Cleveland to the Los Angeles Rams, Garrett joins a defensive line that already features edge-rusher Byron Young and tackles Braden Fiske and Kobie Turner. It's the best assemblage of talent that Garrett has ever had around him in his career.
Given those new stomping grounds, it's fair to wonder if, despite the heights Garrett has already reached, there could be even better times to come. If there's the potential for even more quarterback carnage in 2026.
Few will dispute that Garrett should be the first defensive lineman drafted in IDP leagues in 2026. The bigger question is whether Garrett should be the first defensive player drafted overall.
Hail to the King
To be clear, at no point in this piece will it be suggested that Garrett should not be the first defensive lineman drafted in IDP leagues. He's a tier unto himself in my Edge-Rusher rankings here at Footballguys.
The only time that Garrett has failed to hit double-digit sacks in a season was his rookie year. Since then, he's had at least 12 sacks seven times, including each of the last six campaigns—an NFL record. He also posted at least 14 sacks in each of the past five years—also an NFL record.
It has been quite the rampage.
This is Garrett's last five seasons—including his fantasy finishes in The Godfather's Default IDP Scoring.
| Year | Tackles | Sacks | Fantasy Pts. | DL Finish | OVR Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51 | 16.0 | 119.0 | DL4 | IDP28 |
| 2022 | 60 | 16.0 | 120.5 | DL5 | IDP38 |
| 2023 | 42 | 14.0 | 106.5 | DL14 | IDP71 |
| 2024 | 47 | 14.0 | 108.5 | DL6 | IDP52 |
| 2025 | 60 | 23.0 | 150.5 | DL1 | IDP4 |
Now, some might look at these numbers and not only immediately dismiss the idea of Garrett being the No. 1 IDP overall this year but question whether he should even be the No. 1 defensive lineman. Only once in the past five years has Garrett claimed the title of king of the defensive linemen—last year's record-setting 23-sack explosion. It was also the only time he finished as a top-25 IDP overall.
The former we'll address in a bit. But the latter needs context where defensive linemen are concerned. It's a position where fantasy production is built on a stat (sacks) that is inherently high-variance. Take last year's runner-up in sacks—Brian Burns of the Giants. His 16.5 sacks were impressive—but it was just the second time in seven years Burns topped 10 sacks in a season.
Garrett's otherworldly consistency in recent years is a major boost to his value on the defensive line. Barring an injury, he's about as close to bust-proof as anyone can expect a defensive lineman to be.
Garrett missed two games over that five-game span.