Myles Garrett

Myles Garrett Declares For Draft

December 31st, 2016 at 9:22pm CST by Sam Robinson

Viewed as a strong candidate for the No. 1 overall pick in April, Texas A&M edge defender Myles Garrett will declare for the upcoming draft, according to ESPN.com (Twitter link).

This does not come as a surprise, with the Aggies top prospect already making comments about the kind of NFL city in which he’d like to play. The Browns would not be one of the junior pass-rusher’s preferred destinations, Cleveland being quite cold in certain months, but Garrett has been on the 1-14 team’s radar for a while. The Browns placed an “astronomical” grade on Garrett. A Cleveland loss or 49ers win Sunday gives the Browns the No. 1 selection.

Garrett finished his third season in College Station, Texas, with 8.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss. The 8.5 sacks represent Garrett’s lowest single-season total, although he struggled with an ankle injury this season, but give him 31 for his career. The 6-foot-5, 262-pound performer profiles as a 4-3 defensive end or 3-4 outside linebacker. He finishes his college run with 47.5 tackles for loss.

He will be entering as one of the youngest players in the draft, turning 21 just two days ago. Garrett rates behind only Leonard Fournette on ESPN.com draft analyst Todd McShay’s big board (Insider link).

AFC Notes: Bills, Browns, Jags, Bengals, Colts

December 29th, 2016 at 9:06pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Rex Ryan was a beloved players’ coach with the Jets from 2009-14, but it doesn’t seem that was fully the case during his nearly two-year run in Buffalo. Reacting to the Bills’ Tuesday decision to fire Ryan, one defensive player informed Bleacher Report’s Tyler Dunne, “That was music to my ears.” Similarly, some other Bills never bought into Ryan and felt he tore down the elite defense he inherited in 2015, according to Dunne (Twitter links). On the other side of the ball, wide receiver Sammy Watkins told the team’s official website that a “culture change” will be in order with Ryan’s successor. “Change the culture, change the mindset and get players on board,” he said. “If they’re not listening, cut them, kick them out, whatever. Sit them on the bench. I think that will help us move forward.”

Browns Eyeing Texas A&M DE Myles Garrett

December 11th, 2016 at 10:47am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Browns are increasingly likely to secure the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft (Football Outsiders gives Cleveland an 80.5% chance of picking first), and instead of targeting a quarterback, the club may look to improve its defense with the selection. The Cleveland front office has an “astronomical grade” on Texas A&M edge rusher Myles Garrett, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.

Garrett, 20, is listed as the top 2017 collegiate prospect on nearly every draft guru’s big board, and is a lock to be chosen in the top-five of next year’s draft. At 6’5″, 265 pounds, Garrett should have the ability to play either defensive end in a 4-3 scheme or outside linebacker in a 3-4 look, and the Browns (who play the latter front), are reportedly “enamored” with the Aggie junior, per Schefter.

Although he’s been hampered by an early-season ankle injury, Garrett has still managed to post 8.5 sacks in nine games this year, bringing his career total to 31 in 33 contests.A first-team All-American in 2016, Garrett has previously been compared to NFL pass rushers such as Von Miller, Joey Bosa, and the retired Javon Kearse. “Generational player. Nothing he can’t do. Scheme-wrecker. Complete player,” one area scout told Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com earlier this year.

The Browns aren’t completely abandoning the idea of drafting a quarterback early, however, and scout Lake Dawson has been spending an “inordinate” amount of time in South Bend scouting Notre Dame signal-caller DeShone Kizer, reports Schefter, who notes that Cleveland does hold an extra first-round pick thanks to a trade with Philadelphia. Previous reports have also indicated that the Browns are focusing their efforts on North Carolina QB Mitch Trubisky, another projected first-round pick.

Draft Notes: Garrett, Kizer, Davis, Sutton, TEs

October 22nd, 2016 at 7:37pm CST by Sam Robinson

A surefire candidate to be picked in the top five of the 2017 draft, Myles Garrett has drawn widespread praise and descriptive comparisons. The Texas A&M junior pass-rusher has been likened to Von Miller, a more explosive Joey Bosa, or an upgraded Jevon Kearse who’s 25 pounds heavier, Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com reports of various league personnel’s opinions of the Aggie superstar.

“Generational player. Nothing he can’t do. Scheme-wrecker. Complete player,” one area scout told Breer regarding Garrett, who looks like the clubhouse favorite to go No. 1 overall in the event a quarterback does not.

Although he didn’t improve on the four sacks he’s notched this season today in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Garrett registered 3.5 tackles for loss in No. 1 Alabama’s 33-14 win over No. 6 Texas A&M. At least one edge-rushing talent has gone off the board in the top five in five of the past six drafts, and Garrett looks like the next in that line.

Here’s more on the draft, beginning with the positions that appear to be the strongest and weakest.

Wide receivers may not be the plentiful commodity they’ve been in the recent past, with this prospect pool not proving to be deep thus far, NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks and Daniel Jeremiah note. While the duo views the latest wide receiver named Mike Williams as a top-flight talent out of Clemson, a bevy of similar players has yet to emerge for the 2017 draft. Although, it’s still early, and over the past few years receivers have proven to be more NFL-ready than they’ve ever been. Jeremiah categorizes edge defender, running back, safety and tight end as the deepest in next year’s projected draft pool, based on conversations with NFL personnel, with safeties and tight ends being particularly plentiful. “If you need a safety, there’s no excuse for you to leave this draft without one,” an NFC scout told Jeremiah. As for offensive linemen in an era where the lack of NFL-ready blockers has become commonplace as practice reps have shrunk, a league exec told Jeremiah the next crop of tackles is among the shallowest in years.
One quarterback scouts have been impressed with comes out of Notre Dame, with DeShone Kizer garnering interest as a franchise passer-type prospect, Brooks writes. “He has all of the traits that you look for at the position: size, athleticism, IQ and arm talent,” an AFC personnel executive said, via Brooks. “But you have to see if he is ready for the jump. Is he ready to be the guy?” The 6-foot-4 junior has completed 58 percent of his passes — down four percentage points from 2015 — and thrown for 14 touchdown passes and seven interceptions. Kizer’s blend of arm strength and just enough athleticism intrigues teams, per Brooks.
Brooks envisions Western Michigan wideout Corey Davis as a player ready to become the next in a line of standout MAC-produced targets, behind Randy Moss, Greg Jennings and Antonio Brown. His conference’s all-time receiving leader, the senior 6-3, 213-pound player’s advanced route-running ability will make him “a nightmare” to guard professionally, Brooks writes. In four years with the Broncos, Davis has totaled 278 receptions for 4,430 yards and 43 aerial TDs. Davis already has 10 end zone grabs in seven games this season, and Brooks uses his impressive sample against Big Ten teams as evidence the skill set isn’t limited to feasting on mid-major secondaries.
Another small-school wideout drawing praise as a potential No. 1 NFL receiver: SMU’s Courtland Sutton, whom Breer describes as a physical pass-catcher capable of becoming a No. 1 target in the league. Although, the 6-4, 215-pound redshirt sophomore is far more raw than Davis due to his limited experience and injury-delayed career. “He’s a big, explosive receiver with a great catch radius,” said one AFC personnel exec. “He’s been flying under the radar because the quarterback is bad, but we all know about him.”