One of the most important parts of adding a transformational player like Myles Garrett is gravity. It’s often implied when you talk about the player and what they bring to the table, but it can be one of the most dangerous parts of that player’s presence when they’re on the field.
Garrett is going to command an insane amount of attention on every snap. That’s been the story of his entire career. Bill Barnwell of ESPN distilled it perfectly in his writeup about Monday’s historic trade: Garrett has
led the NFL in sack rate over the past three seasons while also being double-teamed or chipped more than any other edge rusher (over 40% of the time). Even when he’s drawing the offense’s outsized attention, he’s still dominating.
But that attention can make a profound impact in other places on the field, too, not just on Garrett. Schemes will be built around trying to neutralize him. One-on-one matchups will be consistent and exploitable across the rest of the defensive line.
That should be music to the ears of Byron Young.
Already a productive pass rusher, Young should get even more favorable matchups in 2026. There will be fewer chips, fewer double teams and fewer play callers who are thinking about him, frankly.
That’s an incredibly tantalizing prospect, considering what he’s already been able to accomplish during his career. In fact, despite being less of a household name than his former teammate, Jared Verse, Young was more productive getting after the quarterback this past season, racking up more pressures and sacks than the newest Cleveland Brown. Is part of that because Verse was generating plenty of attention? Sure, but he wasn’t generating double teams like the best defensive player in the NFL was. This will be a different level.
It’s just hard to undersell the cascading effect of adding a player like Garrett. We’re talking about a 12-sack player like Young getting opportunities to be even more destructive thanks to his running mate. Meanwhile, interior defensive linemen will also get easier assignments, linebackers will have clearer angles and gaps to shoot, defensive backs won’t have to cover as long with quarterbacks more frequently under siege, it’s all tied together.
One specific statistical area where Garrett’s gravity should show up right away is in quick pressures, which are defined as pressures generated in under 2.5 seconds. While Garrett himself only recorded six last season (per Next Gen Stats), three of his former Browns teammates finished in the top 30 of the league in quick pressures. That wasn’t one of Young’s specialties in 2025, finishing with fewer quick pressures than Garrett did, but it’s fair to expect he’ll have more chances to win quickly with opposing offensive lines keeping their attention elsewhere on nearly every snap.
Think of it this way: The Rams were top 10 in the NFL in EPA per pass play allowed last season with Young as their best pass rusher. How high is the ceiling when he’s suddenly a distant second-best off the edge while he’s simultaneously getting even more dangerous rushing the passer?
The principle here applies to everyone on the defensive front for the Rams, but Young has a chance to put up All-Pro caliber numbers with the kind of matchups he’ll be facing. He’s already a Pro Bowl player, and that should probably be the expectation as long as Garrett is eating up blockers on the other side of the line.
