The Myles Garrett Era is Here, and the Rams are Building Something Special Around Him

You know, there's something about this time of year in football that just gets my blood pumping. The season hasn't kicked off yet, but everybody's making their predictions, drawing up their rankings, trying to figure out who the best players in this league really are. And when you sit down and really look at who's rising to the top, who's playing at an elite level, who's making their teammates better, it tells you a whole lot about where this league is heading. Myles Garrett sitting at number one on the top 100 isn't some shock to the system. It's the natural order of things when you've got a generational talent who's still getting better.

Let me tell you something about Myles Garrett that goes beyond the statistics, though the numbers are plenty impressive on their own. This guy plays defensive end with the kind of relentless motor that reminds you of the great pass rushers who've come before him. He's got the speed, the strength, the intelligence to diagnose plays, and the attitude that says he's going to beat you every single snap. When you watch film on Garrett, you see a player who understands leverage, who knows how to use his hands, who can win on the edge in multiple different ways. He's not just a straight-line guy coming off the ball. He's got shake moves, he's got counter moves, and he studies offensive tackles like a chess player studies the board.

The thing that really separates Garrett from a lot of other great defensive ends is his consistency. You can count on him being a dominant force week in and week out. He shows up in big games. He shows up in cold weather. He shows up when the lights are brightest. That's the hallmark of a truly elite player in this league. And when you rank the top 100 players in the National Football League, you're looking for guys who play at that level of consistency. You're looking for guys who change the trajectory of games. Garrett does that every single Sunday he takes the field.

Now, here's where it gets really interesting. While Garrett is sitting at the top of the mountain, the Los Angeles Rams have three players in that top 10, and that's not coincidence. That's the sign of an organization that's building something special. You don't get three guys ranked in the elite tier of the entire league by accident. You get that by making smart decisions, by acquiring talented players, by creating an environment where excellence is expected and rewarded. The Rams have been one of the most aggressive organizations in football over the last several years, and you're starting to see the payoff in these kinds of rankings.

Think about what it means to have three players in the top 10. That means a quarter of the elite tier of your roster is concentrated in Los Angeles. That means when you watch a Rams game, you're watching not just talented individuals but a concentration of talent that's rare in the modern NFL. For context, you've got to go back through history and remember the great teams that had multiple Hall of Famers on the roster at the same time. You think about the Cowboys in the 1990s with Aikman, Smith, and Irvin all in their primes. You think about the Niners with Montana, Young, Rice, and Lott. You think about those Steelers teams with Bradshaw, Harris, Mean Joe Greene, and Jack Lambert. Having multiple top 10 talents on the same roster is how you build championship caliber football teams.

The Rams clearly understand something that a lot of organizations in this league have forgotten. You can't build a championship team on the cheap. You can't rely on just finding the next great player in the sixth round of the draft. You need to go out and get proven talent at the highest level. You need to be willing to make the moves and take the risks that put elite players on your roster. Sean McVay has been about as aggressive as any head coach in football when it comes to building through acquisition, and now you're seeing the evidence of that strategy starting to pay dividends.

When you're ranking the top 100 players in the league, what you're really doing is trying to identify which teams have the best chance to compete at the highest level. You're trying to separate the haves from the have nots. And right now, the Rams, with three guys in that elite tier, have a legitimate argument for being one of the most talented rosters in football. That doesn't guarantee anything in this league, because football is a game where execution matters, where consistency matters, where staying healthy matters. But it certainly puts them in a position to make a run.

Garrett's presence at number one is about more than just his individual talent. It's about the message it sends about what matters in this league. You want to know what separates the good teams from the great ones? It's elite pass rushers. It's getting after the quarterback. It's making life miserable for the opposing offense before they even get to the line of scrimmage. Garrett embodies that. Every single snap, he's trying to make a difference in the game. Every single snap, he's thinking about how to create chaos for the opposing offense.

The rankings that come out this time of year are interesting because they force us to think about the whole picture of who's great in this league. It's not just about stats, though those matter. It's about impact. It's about how a player affects the game from snap one to the final whistle. Garrett does that on a level that very few players in the National Football League can match. And when you see him listed at number one, you should understand that this isn't about some hot take or trying to be different. It's about the fundamental reality of where he stands in the hierarchy of players in this league right now.

What makes this moment particularly interesting for fans is that you've got a player like Garrett who's still in his prime, still getting better, still hungry to prove himself at the highest level. And you've got organizations like the Rams that are willing to invest in excellence and build around star power. These are the kinds of rosters that create compelling football. These are the kinds of matchups that make you want to set your calendar and plan your weekends around watching.

For the fans out there who love this game, who understand that talent matters, who get excited watching truly great players perform at the highest level, Garrett sitting at number one and the Rams having three in the top 10 means you've got some must watch television coming up this season. It means when these teams take the field, you're going to see elite level play. You're going to see players who demand to be blocked with multiple guys because they're so disruptive. You're going to see offenses trying to figure out how to handle the talent arrayed against them. And that, my friends, is what football is all about. That's why we love this game.