Texas A&M edge rusher Myles Garrett is the clear favorite to be selected by the Cleveland Browns with the No. 1 overall pick in next week’s NFL Draft.
And Pro Football Hall of Famer Warren Sapp really, really doesn’t think that should the case.
Sapp told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that when he watches tape of Garrett, he sees “a lazy kid that makes four plays a game”:
“I see a lazy kid that makes four plays a game. This is the No. 1 guy? No, no, no. This ain’t even close.”
“I don’t see it from this kid. I see the splash plays; everybody gets those. Where’s the game he took over? Where? Any defensive lineman who’s the No. 1 pick, you turn up and you say, ‘There it is!’ This kid, no, I don’t. I’m a pretty plain and frank guy, and I watch the tape and he disappears. I watch the tape, and he absolutely disappears.”
Sheesh. Sapp also said that Garrett isn’t as good as Courtney Brown, a former defensive end taken by the Browns with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft. Brown is widely considered to be one of the biggest busts in NFL history.
“I don’t think this kid is as good as Courtney Brown either,” Sapp said.
And Sapp believes that people are only in love with Garrett because of measurables:
“It’s all about measurable,” he said. “Once you hit the measurable, it’s tough to get them old scout people off the numbers, and that’s what [Garrett] has. He’s big, and he’s fast. Now some defensive line coach is thinking, ‘I can turn him into something.’ How? I’m trying to figure this out. Really? Are we lowering the bar?”
This is certainly an unpopular opinion from Sapp, and he’s been known to say some crazy things over the years. However, it’s important to note that the two-time All Decade team member (1990s and 2000s) knows a thing or two about playing on the defensive line, so maybe he’s on to something here.
But what Sapp doesn’t tell us is who should go No. 1 if Garrett isn’t the guy. Garrett is the draft’s consensus top prospect, and especially appears to be a safer pick than any of the quarterbacks in this class, for example. It’s all about how the player compares to other players in the particular class, and very few people think that the Texas A&M product isn’t the best choice of those players right now.
[ESPN]
