When Myles Garrett Tops the Class, You Know Football's About Playing the Game the Right Way

You know, I've been watching football for a long time, and there's something that never gets old about sitting down before a season starts and thinking about who the best players in this league really are. It's not just about the stats, though the stats matter. It's about understanding what makes a player essential to his team, what makes him do the things that show up in those stats, and what it takes to actually be great when the lights are brightest and the stakes are highest. When you look at the 2026 landscape and you see Myles Garrett sitting atop everyone's list of the hundred best players in professional football, you're looking at a reflection of something real about how this game is played at its highest level.

Garrett being number one tells you something fundamental about what works in the NFL right now. This is a pass-happy league, everybody knows that, and defensive ends who can get after the quarterback, who can collapse pockets and create chaos, they're worth their weight in gold. But Garrett isn't just a pass rusher who shows up on third down and hopes for the best. He's a complete player. He's an athlete who understands gap responsibility, who plays the run, who knows how to position himself to influence a game in multiple ways. When you've got a guy like that, someone who demands constant attention from offensive coordinators and left tackles, someone who can beat you in so many different ways, that's when you know you're looking at elite talent.

What strikes me most about Garrett is his consistency. In football, consistency is underrated. Anybody can have one great season. Anybody can get hot for a stretch and put up numbers that make people take notice. But staying at that elite level year after year, showing up and performing at the highest level regardless of who's across from you or what the circumstances are, that's what separates the truly great ones from the very good ones. Garrett has done that. He's become the kind of player that when you're coaching against him, you're already thinking about how to scheme against him before you even look at the rest of the defense. That's respect, and respect in this league is earned through consistent excellence.

The other fascinating thing about this rankings business is what it tells us about the Rams. Having three guys in the top ten is no accident. That's not luck. That's not happenstance. That's about having a front office that understands what it takes to build a roster, and a coaching staff that knows how to get the most out of the players they've got. When you can put three legitimate top-ten talents on the field at the same time, you've got a chance to do something special. You've got a chance to compete at the highest level. The Rams have built something there that deserves attention, and it deserves respect.

This is the thing about football that I love so much. When you sit down and really study who the best players are, you start to see the shape of the league itself. You start to understand which teams have positioned themselves well, which teams have made the right choices, and which teams are trying to win with mirrors and hope. The rankings don't lie if you know how to read them. They tell you where the talent is concentrated, where the organization has done a good job bringing in the right people, and where the football being played is going to be the most interesting and competitive.

One thing I've noticed over the years is that rankings like this are about more than just statistics. Sure, you look at sacks and tackles and passes defended, but what you're really evaluating is impact. Can this player change the outcome of a game just by being on the field? Does the opposing offense have to adjust their entire game plan just to deal with this one guy? If you're nodding yes to those questions, then you're probably looking at a top-ten, top-fifteen player. The guys who make those lists are the guys whose presence alone makes a difference.

The beauty of having a quarterback-focused league like ours has become is that it creates genuine hierarchy among pass rushers. A guy like Garrett exists in a specific context. He plays in a league where protecting the quarterback and getting after the quarterback are the two most important things happening on any given Sunday. That's the arms race right now. Everybody's trying to find that next Garrett, that next elite pass rusher who's also a complete football player. And when you can't find one, you're trying to find two guys who together can do what one elite guy does. That's how important this position has become.

What makes this moment interesting for the Rams is that they've got their elite guys right now. They've got them in their primes or close to it. This is a window. This is a time when they should be thinking about championships. This is not a time for building or hoping things work out. This is a time for going all in and seeing what you can accomplish. When you've got three top-ten players, you've got a responsibility to your fans and to those players to try to win a championship. Anything less than getting to the playoffs and making noise there is going to feel like a missed opportunity.

The broader picture here is about a league that continues to evolve. Defense is becoming more sophisticated. Offense is becoming more sophisticated. The players are bigger, faster, and stronger than they've ever been. The game is being played at a higher level than at any point in the history of professional football. When you recognize that Myles Garrett is the best player in this environment, the most impactful, the most dominant, you're recognizing something about where the game has landed. You're saying that the elite pass rusher who combines athleticism with intelligence and work ethic, who plays complete football, that's the gold standard right now.

I think about the great pass rushers of the past, guys like Reggie White and Lawrence Taylor, guys who changed how we thought about the defensive end position. Those guys were dominant because they understood the game in a way that went beyond just their athletic ability. They knew how to use leverage. They knew how to set up their moves. They understood gap responsibility and how to impact the entire defense. When I watch Garrett, I see some of that same quality. He's not just a physical specimen, though he is that. He's a student of the game who's applied his gifts in a way that makes him invaluable to his team.

As we head into the 2026 season, these rankings are less about prediction and more about assessment. They're a snapshot of talent as we understand it right now. They reflect where the league is and how the game is being played at its absolute best. For fans of playoff football and championship-level competition, recognizing where the talent is concentrated matters because that's where the best football is going to be played. When you've got Garrett at the top and the Rams putting multiple guys in the top tier, you're looking at places where excellence has been achieved and where excellence is likely to continue.

This matters for fans because the quality of football you get to watch depends on talent being distributed the right way and being deployed intelligently. You want to see the best players on the field in important moments. You want to see them tested against other elite competition. When rankings like this confirm that the best players are in position to make a real impact for their teams, you know that the season ahead is going to have substance to it. You know that these aren't just names on a list. These are real players who are going to affect real games in real ways that matter.