Lead
Myles Garrett was crowned the 2025 AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year on Thursday night at NFL Honors in San Francisco after a season that rewrote the single-season sack record. The Cleveland Browns defensive end was a unanimous choice, receiving all 50 first-place votes and 500 points. Garrett’s award capped a campaign that included a league-high 23 sacks and a dominant presence despite the Browns finishing 5-12. Teammate Carson Schwesinger also earned Defensive Rookie of the Year, marking a rare pair of defensive honors for teammates.
Key Takeaways
- Unanimous DPOY: Garrett collected all 50 first-place votes for a total of 500 points at the NFL Honors ceremony.
- Single-season sack record: Garrett recorded 23 sacks in 2025, surpassing the 22.5 mark previously held by Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt.
- Counting the ledger: He led the league with 33 tackles for loss, matched a career-high 60 tackles and set a career-best 39 QB hits.
- Broad damage: Garrett sacked 11 different quarterbacks and logged the season-ending sack of Joe Burrow in the Browns’ 20–18 win on Jan. 4.
- Team context: Garrett produced those numbers while Cleveland finished 5–12, frequently facing focused blocking schemes.
- Extra attention: Next Gen Stats recorded Garrett facing double teams or chip blocks on 186 pass rushes — the most for any edge rusher since at least 2018.
- League honors: The season included Garrett’s seventh Pro Bowl selection and his fifth All-Pro nod; he was a unanimous first-team All-Pro choice.
Background
Myles Garrett entered the NFL as a high draft pick and had long been regarded as an elite edge rusher. Over more than eight seasons, he established a reputation for power, length and pass-rush versatility that routinely altered opponents’ game plans. The AP Defensive Player of the Year award has a selective history: Garrett is the ninth player to win multiple DPOY honors, joining a list of Hall of Famers and dominant defenders such as Lawrence Taylor, Joe Greene, Ray Lewis, Mike Singletary, Bruce Smith and Reggie White, plus contemporaries J.J. Watt and Aaron Donald.
The Browns’ defensive success around Garrett has been uneven; Cleveland’s 5–12 finish in 2025 reflected roster and offensive struggles even as Garrett accumulated historic individual totals. The NFL has seen several seasons where standout defensive players produced top-line statistics on sub-.500 teams, complicating award discussions but highlighting how an elite pass rusher can impact games even without defensive support across all units. The 22.5-sack single-season high previously belonged jointly to Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt, making Garrett’s 23-sack mark a new benchmark.
Main Event
At the NFL Honors ceremony in San Francisco, the AP panel announced Garrett as the Defensive Player of the Year, and voting totals showed a unanimous decision. The accolade was the climax of a campaign in which Garrett disrupted opponents game after game — from consistent pressure packages to single-game outbursts. Notably, Garrett registered five sacks in Week 8 against Drake Maye, one of the season’s most eye-catching individual performances.
Garrett’s sack of Joe Burrow in the fourth quarter of Cleveland’s Jan. 4, 20–18 victory provided a season-closing highlight; it was one of 11 different quarterbacks he brought down during the year. Throughout the season, he produced sustained backfield work: 33 tackles for loss and 39 QB hits accompanied his sack total, illustrating production beyond the headline number.
Opposing coordinators attempted numerous counters, frequently assigning chips or double teams. According to Next Gen Stats, Garrett faced extra help on 186 pass rushes — a figure higher than any other edge rusher in available seasons since 2018 — yet still produced a league-leading 32 QB pressures and eight sacks when teams applied additional blockers.
Analysis & Implications
Individually, Garrett’s 2025 season strengthens his Hall of Fame argument. Multiple DPOY awards and a new single-season sack record are the types of accomplishments that voters weigh heavily. That said, Hall of Fame timelines are multi-factorial and depend on career longevity, cumulative statistics and off-field considerations; a single historic season accelerates the case but does not automatically secure enshrinement.
For the Browns, Garrett’s dominance presents both opportunity and a strategic question: how to translate elite individual play into sustainable team success. The franchise must weigh roster construction, pass-catch support and defensive complementary pieces to convert elite rush production into more wins. Teams facing Garrett showed that extra blockers can limit some outcomes, but his productivity even under duress suggests a high baseline value.
Leaguewide, Garrett’s 23-sack season may shape how teams allocate resources to edge rushers in upcoming free-agent and draft cycles. The market for disruptive defensive ends is already strong; a record-setting campaign like Garrett’s strengthens the case for paying premium prices for proven pass-rush talent. It also pressures offensive coordinators and protection schemes to innovate against elite edge threats.
Comparison & Data
| Player | Season | Sacks |
|---|---|---|
| Myles Garrett | 2025 | 23.0 |
| Michael Strahan | 2001 | 22.5 |
| T.J. Watt | 2021 | 22.5 |
The table shows Garrett edging past the previous shared record of 22.5 sacks. Complementary metrics highlight the breadth of his disruption: 33 tackles for loss and 39 QB hits are indicators of plays that affect both passing and running downs. Next Gen Stats’ counts of double-team occurrences (186) and pressures when facing extra help (32 pressures, eight sacks) demonstrate production under strategic opposition.
Reactions & Quotes
He secured every first-place vote — 50 of 50 — to take the AP Defensive Player of the Year award.
NFL.com (league coverage)
Analytics tracking showed Garrett faced more double teams and chip blocks than any other edge rusher since at least 2018, yet maintained elite pressure and sack totals.
Next Gen Stats (analytics)
Unconfirmed
- Whether Garrett’s 2025 season will accelerate any immediate Hall of Fame induction timeline is a matter of projection and not confirmed.
- Contract or roster moves that Cleveland might pursue in direct response to Garrett’s season have not been announced and remain speculative.
- Any internal Browns strategic plans to restructure playcalling specifically around maximizing Garrett’s impact in 2026 are unreported and unconfirmed.
Bottom Line
Myles Garrett’s 2025 campaign stands as one of the most dominant single seasons ever by an edge rusher: a new single-season sack record, league-leading tackles for loss, and unanimous AP recognition. Those achievements sharpen his individual legacy and provide a clear argument for long-term honors, while also underscoring how elite defensive play can coexist with team-level struggles.
For the Browns and the rest of the league, Garrett’s year will influence roster building, opponent scheming and valuation of pass-rush talent. The immediate watch items are how Cleveland supports Garrett in 2026 and whether opponents will develop new protection schemes or personnel matchups to blunt similar future seasons.
Sources
- NFL.com (league site — award coverage and game statistics)
- Next Gen Stats (analytics — pass-rush and blocking data)
- Pro Football Hall of Fame (official — historical award and Hall of Fame context)