Texans vs. Browns: Myles Garrett could be the next J.J. Watt

3. J.J. Watt vs. Myles Garrett: TFL’s came easy for Watt in first 4 seasons

When looking at the first four years of the career for J.J. Watt, his tackle for loss numbers really jump off the page. In 2011 as a rookie he had 13, then things really began to break away as the Houston Texans defensive end totaled 39 TFL in 2012, 22 in 2013 and 29 in 2014. Those numbers are outstanding and helped Watt earn two of his aforementioned Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Watt became a star in the league during his first four seasons in the NFL, and his fifth season made him one of the best ever to play the game. But as this article is just focusing on his first four seasons, Watt just dominated the backfield with tackles for loss.

Tackles for loss doesn’t seem to be the best stat for Myles Garrett when comparing his numbers to Watt’s. Garrett in his first 48 games played has 37 career TFL with nine as a rookie, and followed with 12, 11, and five so far in eight games.

Last season, Garrett was on pace for a larger number, as he had 11 TFL in 10 games, so it is fun to think what that number would have ended up at. As for this season, that is important for the Houston Texans entering Week 10 because Garrett is playing the best football of his career, and the rushing game of the team isn’t all that great.

Garrett could cause the Texans offense a lot of issues, so don’t be surprised to see his TFL number jump up some at the conclusion of their Week 10 game in Cleveland.