DE Myles Garrett jumped off the line of scrimmage, batted away the right arm of Vikings RT Brian O'Neill and marched right up to QB Sam Darnold, who would have been sacked by the reigning Defensive Player of the Year if the two were facing off at Cleveland Browns Stadium rather than the CrossCountry Mortgage Campus in a joint practice.
Entering year eight, Garrett has earned a multitude of nicknames that attempt to explain the otherworldly things he can do on the field.
Most recently, DT Maurice Hurst II called his fellow defensive linemen an "alien."
"He just does alien stuff," Hurst said Thursday after watching Garrett's dominant performance against the Vikings in joint practices the day before.
Over a week ago, DT Quinton Jefferson called Garrett a "freak." A few days earlier, DE Za'Darius Smith said he thought Garrett was "born in a lab."
But Garrett isn't the only player on the Browns defensive line worthy of supernatural superlatives.
Smith has reached double-digit sacks three times in his career and has his eyes set on getting back to form this season after recording five-and-a-half sacks last year. Jefferson had six last year with the Jets, a career high, and DT Dalvin Tomlinson was one of the best run-stoppers in the league in 2023, adding three sacks of his own.
Garrett and the Browns defensive line have big shoes to fill if they are to put on an encore performance greater than or equal to the unforgettable show they delivered in 2023.
The Browns sacked the quarterback four or more times in a single game five times last year and Smith said that the defensive line is hungry for more this season.
"We still got a lot to prove," Smith said. "Hopefully everybody can get double digit sacks on the d-line, that'd be great."
It's rare for a team to have multiple players with double-digit sacks as only four teams (Miami, Jacksonville, Tennessee and Kansas City) did so last year. But the Browns, led by defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, could be in position to do so in 2024.
Schwartz isn't concerned with numbers at this point in the season, however. With three Sundays before the Browns' season opener against the Cowboys, the Browns DC is focused on the day-to-day process required to put together a successful season as a defensive line.
"The only thing we can really work on right now is working our craft and our technique and our knowledge of the scheme and all those things," Schwartz said early in training camp. "And if we do a good job of those things, then maybe we can be talking about sack totals or anything else at the end of the season. I sort of try to keep my eyes on what's right in front of us right now."
Hurst echoed his coach's words on Thursday, saying that the Browns defense can't get caught up in last year's success.
"What happened last year happened last year," Hurst said. "It's all about this year, creating that identity, building off of the good stuff that we did last year and cleaning up all the bad stuff we did."
For Hurst, a big part of improving from last season will be staying healthy. The defensive tackle ended his season in December with a pectoral injury but said he is back in full health as he prepares for the regular season.
"That's just dominance for me, personally," Hurst said on the ability to stay healthy. "That's everything that I train for, everything that I work for is to, you know, be out there with my guys as much as possible to make big plays and be very productive."
Hurst said he appreciated the two joint practices the Browns had against the Vikings, in which the defensive line looked strong against Minnesota. While Garrett and the Browns starters will not play Saturday, Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell was impressed after seeing what the Browns defensive line can do as a unit.
"They have a great pass rush, one of the best in the NFL on one side," O'Connell said after Thursday's practice. "For most of last season, I remember them being the number one defense in the league and I have so much respect for how they play, they played hard and they played physical."
