Top pick to debut against Jets for winless Browns
Myles Garrett marches to his own drummer.
Unconventional and uniquely talented, Cleveland’s rookie defensive end is something of a renaissance man with interests in architecture, music, poetry — and smashing quarterbacks.
Deprived of making his NFL regular-season debut for a month because of a badly sprained right ankle, the top overall pick in this year’s NFL draft announced his return to action earlier this week with a one-word pronouncement on Twitter.
Garrett wrote:
In Spanish, it means “I’m back.” In Cleveland, it means “Help has arrived.”
The speedy edge rusher and athletic phenom will finally line up Sunday for the winless Browns as they face the New York Jets, a team tabbed to be one of the league’s worst but has surprised and is showing signs of life.
The Browns, 1-19 in two seasons under coach Hue Jackson, have badly missed the 6-foot-4, 275-pound Garrett, and Jackson hopes he can be dominant.
“I would love to see that happen,” Jackson said. “That is the plan, but I think his first game, he hasn’t played all year. This is our fifth game of the year. We are just going to be excited to have him out there, and we will see what kind of impact he can make on this football game.”
Jackson said Garrett will likely be on a “pitch count” in his debut. As excited as they are to have him in the lineup, the Browns aren’t going to push him too hard.
“He has put together a week and a half of practice, but still, he has been off for quite a while, too,” Jackson said. “We have to be smart about our expectations of him this weekend.”
Defensive tackle Danny Shelton, also expected back from a calf injury, can’t wait to see what Garrett will do.
“I think he will have a lot of impact,” Shelton said. “We are just focusing on being dominant up front so we can help out the team.”
The Jets don’t have much film on Garrett to prepare for him, but they know all about him.
“He’s a talented player,” said Jets quarterback Josh McCown, making his return to Cleveland after being released by the Browns. “There’s a reason why you go No. 1 overall, and we understand that, and the O-line will be ready to go. You have to make sure you have different people on him to slow “Regrese.” him down.”
Beyond Garrett’s highly anticipated debut, here are some other things to watch as the Browns and Jets for the third straight year:
Double Trouble
Jets running backs Bilal Powell and Elijah McGuire combined for 256 yards rushing in the 23-20 victory over Jacksonville last week. The two might handle the bulk of the carries again.
With Matt Forte sidelined with turf toe, Powell made the most of his opportunity, rushing for a career-high 163 yards, breaking off a 75-yard TD run. Rookie Elijah McGuire had 93 yards, including a 69yard TD — marking the fifth time teammates each rushed for scores of at least 69 yards in the same game.
“All week we talked about establishing the run game,” said McGuire, a sixth-round pick from Louisiana-Lafayette. “We did that for the past few weeks, and we just wanted to build off those weeks into that game, and that’s exactly what we did.”
Wide-Open
Cleveland’s wide receivers haven’t been giving rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer much help. The unit, which lost 2016 first-round pick Corey Coleman to a broken hand, has been plagued by dropped passes, broken routes and minimal production.
Veteran offseason signing Kenny Britt has been a major disappointment, and Jordan Leslie is on IR after tearing his hamstring.
The Browns signed speedster Bryce Treggs off Philadelphia’s practice squad this week and he may face the Jets.
Just Joshin’
McCown spent the past two seasons with the Browns, winning once in 11 starts. He already has two victories with the Jets.
The 38-year-old quarterback had one year remaining on his contract, but was cut by Cleveland. He’s not looking for revenge.
“It’s early and not unlike the situation that we were in when we got to Cleveland, just understand that they are trying to build something and move forward with their program,” he said. “Sitting here at 2-2, I feel pretty good, but we have a long way ahead and a lot of season left.”
Still Searching:
The Jets rank 30th with six sacks, none from defensive linemen Muhammad Wilkerson or Leonard Williams.
New York has also been abysmal against the run, ranking 29th in yards allowed. Defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers isn’t happy about that, and he let his guys know it.
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