Myles Garrett didn't flinch. Propped up with an opportunity to reflect positively on his rookie season, Garrett flatly rejected it.
Asked Tuesday if he took any satisfaction from a rookie season that was marred by a couple of injuries but ended with a team-high seven sacks, Garrett provided a simple "no" before elaborating on what's driving him to do so much more in 2018.
"One, I did not do enough for us to get a win. Two, I always want more for myself. It does not matter if I have 10, 12 sacks, I want better and I want more," he said after Day 2 of offseason workouts. "I see the opportunities where I could have finished a play, or maybe I could have swiped his arm and gotten the ball out, or I could have finished on an O-lineman or finished on a quarterback and have made a big play that could have changed the pace of the game.
"Just getting that under my belt and just watching film and seeing the things that I can do differently and things that I can work on this offseason to have those plays go my way next time, that is what I am looking forward to."
Garrett said it took him "about a week" to shake off Cleveland's 0-16 season. He shifted his focus to a personal offseason training program he hopes will allow him to play even more snaps per game than the workload he assumed as a rookie.
The former No. 1 pick missed the first four games of 2017 because of a "freak" high ankle injury that occurred on the practice field in the buildup to the season opener. He dealt with lingering soreness from the injury all the way to the end and missed another game along the way because of a concussion.
Still, as he demonstrated on his very first NFL snap -- when he collected the first sack of his career -- Garrett was a threat to opposing offenses from Day 1, an underlying threat to make a splash play at any moment.
To achieve what he wants to achieve in his second NFL season, Garrett wants to see more of those plays become a reality.
"My goal is to be the best player on the field every down and every game," Garrett said. "If I achieve that, then I will achieve any goal I set forth."
Through just two days of workouts, Garrett has already left the impression with his teammates that he's back to 100 percent and back to make an even bigger impact on a Cleveland defense that will feature a number of new faces.
"Myles is Myles. One thing about Myles is he hasn't changed," linebacker Christian Kirksey said. "He's in tip top shape. Myles is going to give you everything he has, and that's what a first-round pick looks like. I'm just excited to have him on board going into his second year with one year under his belt.
"I'm excited to see him evolve into the player we know he can be."
