Myles Garrett was announced as the 2025 NFL Defensive Player of the Year on Thursday, confirming the expectations about the Cleveland Browns star after his historic season. Garrett broke the single-season sack record, with 23 sacks in what was an otherwise forgettable season for the Browns.
The Numbers Behind The 2025 Season For Myles Garrett
There were five finalists for each award, and Garrett faced competition from Will Anderson Jr., Nik Bonitto, Aidan Hutchinson, and Micah Parsons. In truth, there was no competition: Garrett was a rare unanimous winner, the second in the history of the award:
This was a historic season for the defender. With 23 sacks, he broke the single-season record set by Michael Strahan (2001) and T.J. Watt (2021). Garrett also added 33 tackles for loss, 84 pressures, 39 quarterback hits, and forced three fumbles. Simply put, he was unstoppable.
Myles Garrett is the second unanimous AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year. J.J. Watt was the other in 2014.
— Rob Maaddi (@RobMaaddi) February 6, 2026
His individual season was one of the rare bright spots in an awful season for the Cleveland Browns. The team posted a 5-12 record, struggled to find consistency at quarterback, and finished last in the AFC North. Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders started multiple games at quarterback, all with little to no success.
Garrett, however, did all that he could to help the team. He earned every individual accolade possible: in addition to the DPOY award, he was selected to the Pro Bowl and named First-Team All-Pro. He was the only Browns player to be named an All-Pro in 2025.
Myles Garrett Asked To Be Traded Before The 2025 Season
One thing fans might’ve forgotten is that, prior to the 2025 season, Garrett could have been traded. He asked to be dealt after another poor season from the Browns, citing a “desire to win” after Cleveland went 3-14.
However, his desire to win was quickly put behind him after he signed a major contract extension with the team. The Browns gave him a four-year, $160 million extension that, at the time, made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the history of the league.
This title currently belongs to Micah Parsons, who now earns $47 million per year after his trade from the Dallas Cowboys to the Green Bay Packers.
Garrett was the first overall pick of the 2017 draft. Despite strong years and multiple NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards (he also won in 2023), the Browns have won just one playoff game (2020) since he joined the team. Clearly, such a great player deserves a better team.
