The Cleveland Browns will open training camp later this month without defensive end Myles Garrett for the first time since 2016.
During his nine years in Cleveland, Garrett etched his name in the franchise and league record books while becoming the game’s most dominant edge rusher. Garrett not only holds the league record for most sacks in a season (23) but also the franchise’s record for career sacks (125.5), a number that no one will likely come close to any time soon.
Garrett is now in Los Angeles
to chase Super Bowls with the Rams after a trade last May. In his place in Cleveland is Jared Verse, who, while not on Garrett’s level (no shame in that), does know a thing or two about getting after the quarterback, as he has posted 99 pressures since entering the league as a first-round selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.
That ability, along with a pair of Pro Bowl selections and a 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year award in his trophy case, is why Verse landed just outside of the top 10 in ESPN’s ranking of the game’s best edge rushers for 2026.
The site polled league executives, coaches, and scouts on who they believe are the 10 best edge rushers right now, compiled the results, mixed in some of their own film study and research, and out popped the list.
Garrett, to no one’s surprise, was the overwhelming choice at No. 1 after being the top pick on everyone’s ballot. Other familiar names populate the list, from Micah Parsons of the Green Bay Packers to Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders and Aidan Hutchinson of the Detroit Lions.
Verse comes in as the first player listed as an Honorable Mention, with the following opinions:
“I thought he improved in his second year with a better rush plan, sets up moves with better timing.” — AFC executive
“Love Verse, but some of the other rushers higher than him have more variety, whereas Verse is all power at times. But he’s only going to get better and have a great career. He’s a beast.” — another AFC executive
Verse is not Garrett, who made everyone’s job on the defense easier, but defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg should have little trouble finding ways to use a player who is already a “beast” and is expected to “get better and have a great career.”
He may not find his name at the top of the franchise’s sack record when his time is done in Cleveland, but as long as he continues to play his game, Verse should do alright for himself and the Browns in 2026 and in the years to come.
