DE Myles Garrett drove through a pair of Chargers offensive linemen, wrapped up QB Justin Herbert and brought him down for his first sack of the Browns' Week 9 matchup against the Chargers. Three plays later, Garrett had already tacked on two more sacks, marking his fifth career game with three or more quarterback takedowns.
The dominant stretch of three sacks across four plays was one of many highlights in yet another notable season for the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year. For the third consecutive season, Garrett earned a spot on the NFL Players Association Players' All-Pro team. Since the list began in 2023, Garrett is one of only seven players to be named a Players' All-Pro in each of its three iterations.
Garrett finished the season with 14 sacks, the second-most in the NFL, and 84 quarterback pressures, the third-most in the NFL this season. Garrett also led the NFL in tackles for loss with 22, three more than Steelers LB T.J. Watt, who had the second most. Garrett's elite production came despite opposing offenses doing their best to prevent him from making an impact as a pass rusher. No defensive end faced more double teams than Garrett, who was doubled on 30 percent of his pass rush attempts in 2024.
"I don't see how he's not the best defensive player in the game this year," head coach Kevin Stefanski said Jan. 2 before the Browns' Week 18 game against the Ravens. "The piece to me that I think is so impressive is he's doing all this while getting all of the attention from the other team. It's like a degree of difficulty that he's able to (have the second-most) sacks and (lead the league) in tackles for loss with all that attention. It should be impossible. So, that just speaks to the caliber he's playing at."
In 2024, Garrett became the first player in NFL history to reach 100 or more career sacks before his 29th birthday. With two sacks in Week 17 against the Dolphins, Garrett made NFL history, becoming the first player to record 14 or more sacks in four consecutive seasons.
In addition to earning a spot on the Players' All-Pro team, Garrett was named to the Pro Bowl for the sixth time in his eight-year career.
"I feel like I faced much more difficult odds this year and offenses have done quite a lot to try to take me out of the game and made it blatantly obvious," Garrett said. "But I feel like the guys around me have really helped me thrive as much as I have at this point."
Garrett's nomination to the Players' All-Pro team signifies the respect he has garnered from players across the league. The NFLPA Players' All-Pro team gives every active NFL player the opportunity to cast their vote to decide the best players at each position.
The Players' All-Pro is the only team voted on exclusively by players. They are not allowed to vote for themselves or for a teammate and can only vote for the position group they play in and line up against.
"We compete against each other all season long, watching hours and hours of film week after week after week, and yet we have never had an opportunity to truly use our expertise to select the best of us," The NFLPA wrote in a statement announcing the inaugural Players’ All-Pro team in 2023. "We think it is important that players take the time to define ourselves, because so far, we have allowed everyone else to either pick or dilute our voices."
A full list of the 2024 NFLPA Players' All-Pro team can be found here.
