J.J. Watt has built an all-time great legacy with the Houston Texans.
The Houston Texans drafted J.J. Watt back in 2011 in the first round, and since then he’s been the premier defensive end in the league as he was dominant enough to win three Defensive Player of the Year awards.
The Cleveland Browns drafted Myles Garrett, also a defensive end, back in 2017 with the first pick overall, and in limited action, when on the field he’s become a dominant force while in the trenches and rushing the quarterback.
Watt is in his 10th season in the league with the numbers that will one day see his bust in Canton next to the best of the best defensive ends like Reggie White, Bruce Smith and Deacon Jones, to name just three.
Garrett is current in the midst of his best season yet in year four with the Browns, and we’re all most likely seeing him break down the walls so to speak, and the best is yet to come from maybe the best draft selection the Browns have made since rejoining the league back in 1999.
In Watt’s first four seasons (2011-14), he won two of his AP Defensive Player of the Year awards, and his third one came in his fifth season. Currently, Garrett could be in the driver’s seat to win his first DPOY award if he keeps up his current pace of dominant play for the remainder of the 2020 NFL season.
Next, let’s look at how Watt and Garrett compare with each other in their first four seasons as the two players will be in the same stadium this Sunday when the Texans face the Browns in Week 10 AFC action.
4. J.J. Watt vs. Myles Garrett: Forced fumbles is an undervalued stat
The Houston Texans had unbelievable production from J.J. Watt in his first four seasons when it comes to forced fumbles. In those four seasons, Watt played in every game possible and collected 12 forced fumbles in those four seasons, and that included zero as a rookie.
Watt then came back in his second through fourth seasons and had four forced fumbles each.
Myles Garrett has played in 45 out of a possible 56 games in his first four seasons with the Browns, as he’s played in all eight games thus far in 2020, while he played in 11 games as a rookie, followed by 16 games in year two and 10 games last season.
In those four seasons, Garrett has 10 forced fumbles so far, including four this season, which is his career-high. Last season before his suspension cost him six games, Garrett had two forced fumbles, and in the only season so far he’s played all 16 games, the Browns defensive end had three forced fumbles in ’18. As a rookie, Garrett had one forced fumble.
So with eight games left in his fourth season, Garrett has a real shot of surpassing the forced fumble numbers by Watt, but either way both players should be cheered for their success in this undervalued stat.
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.
2. J.J. Watt vs. Myles Garrett: QB hits are always exciting to watch
If you are a fan of hard-nosed defense, then the QB hits stat has to be a favorite to keep watch on. If you are a fan or either J.J. Watt or Myles Garrett, those are some big numbers that show up on the stat sheet.
The play of J.J. Watt back in his first four seasons was just remarkable, as his QB hits numbers include 19 as a rookie, and Garrett when he was a rookie totaled 18 QB hits in just 11 games. Watt’s second year was just off the charts with 43 QB hits, and Garrett in his only full season to date totaled 29 QB hits.
In Watt’s third and fourth seasons, he exceeded the number he built in year two as he totaled 46 QB hits in 2013 and 51 in 2014. Garrett collected 18 QB hits in 10 games for his third season, and this season so far in his first eight games has 13 of the stat, and most likely that number in going to increase dramatically as the season continues.
Again, Watt wins this comparison, and that just shows how elite the Houston Texans defensive end was in his first four seasons, as Garrett’s numbers are solid as well, just not at the level of Watt.
1. J.J. Watt vs. Myles Garrett: Sacks are a DE’s best friend
If a defensive end/pass rusher wants to become one of the elite players at his position and make the life-changing contracts, sacking the quarterback is what will allow them to back up a Brinks truck to the front entrance of any bank.
That is exactly J.J. Watt did in his first four seasons with the Houston Texans as his sack numbers were 5.5, 20.5, 10.5 and 20.5 for a total of 57 of his now-100 career sacks in those four seasons. Watt is still an impressive player and one of the best at his position, but having two 20.5-sack years in a span of three seasons is stuff of legends, and that is what the Houston Texans defensive end is … a living legend.
Myles Garrett has a pretty good opportunity to really add to his sack numbers if he can stay away from Laremy Tunsil this Sunday in Week 10, but so far this season in eight games the Browns defensive end has nine sacks to lead the NFL.
Last season, Garrett was on the verge of adding to his sack totals with 10 sacks in 10 games, and in his second season he had 13.5 sacks in 16 games. Even as a rookie, Garrett was impressive with seven sacks in 11 games.
These past two seasons in 18 games for Garrett have seen him total 10 sacks, so as he’s on his way to his first Defensive Player of the Year award. Maybe the torch is being passed in this game as both players are in the same stadium.
Watt wins the battle of overall numbers when comparing the first four seasons, but Watt is an elite and all-time great player, and he’s built his legacy as he and Lawrence Taylor are the only 3-time DPOY winners to have at least 100 sacks.
If Garrett keeps up his level of play he’s had this season, he could eventually join them one day, and his career will be fun to watch as the Browns try to rebuild their franchise.
It also will be fun to see if playing in the same game as Garrett will spark Watt to go back to his past “MVP form” for this one game, but that is asking a lot because Watt in his early years was on a whole different level that few have been able to reach.