Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett was going to be the 2025 Defensive Player of the Year. He broke Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt’s sack record of 22.5, bringing quarterbacks down 23 times throughout the season.
It was fairly obvious that Garrett was going to win the NFL’s highest honor for a defensive player. It was announced before the NFL Honors show that Strahan was going to present the award to the DPOY winner.
But as it turns out, Garrett reached even rarer air than initially thought on Thursday night, becoming the first player to win the award unanimously since Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt.
Myles Garrett becomes second unanimous DPOY winner
“Myles Garrett is the second player to win Defensive Player of the Year unanimously. J.J. Watt in 2014 was the other,” wrote Adam Schefter in a post on X.
Watt won his second of three career DPOY awards in 2014 for his 20.5 sacks, 29 tackles for loss, and two defensive touchdown season.
Garrett joins him in that potential Hall of Fame company thanks to his record-breaking season, and it’s absolutely well-deserved.
The craziest part about the former No. 1 overall pick’s 23-sack season is how poor the Browns were overall.
When Garrett was lining up against opposing offensive linemen, Cleveland was down more often than not, meaning they were not necessarily in passing situations.
It didn’t matter. Despite having the 17th game, Garrett’s record is insanely impressive, and it’s sure to stand for a long time.
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