The Rams made the splashiest move of the offseason when they landed Myles Garrett from Cleveland. Now ESPN’s Ben Solak thinks Garrett can do something only one other player has done in the modern sack-tracking era.
Solak predicted that Garrett will record at least 20 sacks this fall. That would give him back-to-back 20-sack seasons after he broke the single-season record with 23 in 2025. Only J.J. Watt has had multiple 20-sack seasons since sacks became official in 1982 — he did it in 2012 and 2014. If you go back further with retroactive stats, you get Mark Gastineau and Deacon Jones. Jones is the only guy who did it in consecutive years.
A different kind of role in LA
Garrett won’t just be used the same way he was in Cleveland. Solak pointed out that Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula might use Garrett as a decoy more often than Jim Schwartz did. But Shula also runs more exotic fronts and blitz packages that could make it harder for offenses to double-team Garrett. Solak thinks it’ll even out.
There’s another factor working in Garrett’s favor. The Rams offense should be explosive again in 2026. If they jump out to early leads, opponents will be forced into passing situations. That means more opportunities for Garrett to hunt quarterbacks in obvious passing downs.
Already an all-time talent
Garrett doesn’t need another 20-sack season to validate his career. He’s already a future Hall of Famer and the reigning sack king. But putting together two straight seasons with 20-plus sacks would put him in conversation with Watt and the other all-time greats in a way that a single monster year doesn’t quite do.
The Rams are betting that Garrett can be the missing piece to get them back to the Super Bowl. Even if that doesn’t happen, he might make history anyway. We’ll see him suit up in that Rams uniform later this fall, and the league will be watching.
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