Garrett sees Cleveland defense shaping up as ‘very scary’
CLEVELAND — Myles Garrett is eager to welcome Jadeveon Clowney to the Browns and come blasting off the edge with his fellow former No. 1 overall pick.
“I know everyone else is looking forward to it, and so am I,” Garrett said Thursday at the unveiling of two murals in downtown Cleveland commissioned by Garrett by local artist Glen Infante as part of the #Voicesofcle initiative. “I know the guy is aggressive, really gets after it and he has a motor, keeps attacking, plays the run well and a good pass rusher.
“He’s an athletic specimen like someone I know on the Browns, so it will be fun. It really will.”
“And we got a new safety [in John Johnson III],” he said. “We got Takk [Mckinley] and so, John Johnson will be able to make some plays, Greedy [Williams] will hopefully be back and Takk will come in and apply some pressure. It’s all rounding out pretty nicely.”
If it all comes together the way Garrett expects, quarterbacks had better watch out. Garrett finished sixth in the NFL with 12 sacks, and Clowney has been in the 95th percentile in run defense since being picked No. 1 overall by the Texans in 2014, according to Pro Football Focus.
“I think we can do a lot,” Garrett said. “I don’t know what we’re doing in the draft, that’s all up to man over there. But with the pieces we have now, I think we’ll be very scary, so I’m looking forward to it. Getting on the field, taking the ball away and putting it back in our offense’s hands.”
He acknowledged that the departures were just as tough as the additions were welcomed.
“It was hard to see Sheldon [Richardson] and Larry [Ogunjobi] go,” he said. “But those are great guys, great men. I know they have their heads held high and they’ll go on to be productive wherever they go.”
The #Voicesofcle project is near and dear to Garrett’s heart because he’s an artist himself who writes poetry and draws, among other things. He hopes to collaborate on projects with Infante, and possibly have him illustrate his poetry book.
As for the two “Cleveland is the Reason” murals that grace the front of the visitor’s center, Garrett was thrilled to be part of giving back to his second home, especially with the NFL Draft coming to Cleveland next week. One of them features Lebron James, Machine Gun Kelly, Toni Morrison, Jim Brown and Tracy Chapman
“Love for Cleveland, honestly,” he said of the project. “I have a passion and compassion for people, so I just wanted to give everybody something to look at, they’ll smile upon when they come down the street and something that inspires them.”
Inspired by his grandmother’s love of literature and poetry, “I’ve always had an appreciation for the arts whether it was my own artwork or it was literature or actual illustrations, so being able to actually work with an artist and being able to see his process and a finished product, that’s great for what I want to do and it turns out great for Cleveland.”
Having fallen in love with a city that embraced him from the moment he was drafted No. 1 overall in 2017, Garrett is an enthusiastic ambassador for the city.
“I say you’ve got to give it a chance,” he said. “A lot of people look at Cleveland and they kind of just write it off. When I tell them about it, I say, ‘Just come in with an open mind. You don’t know about a lot of hidden gems. You just have to go out there with no expectations. Be open to it all.’”
Heading into his fifth season, Garrett couldn’t be happier here, and hopes visitors to the city next week will see some of what it has to offer.
“The longer I’ve been here, the more it’s grown on me, and I’ve just started to love it,” he said. “Even when I’m in Texas, I sometimes miss my home of being in the city or just going through and seeing the people.
“Back where I’m from, they say we have a lot of kind, well-mannered people, and I feel like it’s the same way here in Cleveland. So it’s much appreciated. It’s always felt like a second home.”