Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz wants 'free and more productive' Myles Garrett

BEREA — Scary.

That was the word former Browns, Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans defensive lineman Robaire Smith used to describe how it could look having Myles Garrett in new Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz's scheme. It's the way Schwartz hopes it could look as well.

"We are going to work real hard at it," Schwartz said at his introductory news conference. "He is going to play his part. I have been very fortunate over my career to be blessed with some really defensive linemen. We run a very D line-friendly scheme that eliminates a lot of conflict for those guys, and we were able to play guys off of that. We sort of let those guys go and be disruptive."

The former No. 1 overall pick certainly would fit in that category. Garrett's been a multi-time All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection, and has already put his name all over the Browns record book.

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Garrett became the team's "official" all-time sack leader in Week 6, and ended the season just three sacks shy of the "unofficial" record of 77.5 set by Bill Glass from 1962-68. The last two seasons ended with him setting — and then tying — the franchise's single-season sack record with 16 each season.

Schwartz wants to play his part in Garrett shattering that mark.

"I think that every offense we will play will probably start with that – how do we neutralize Myles Garrett and how do we keep him from wrecking this game?" Schwartz said. "It is my job to give him some answers and to be able to put some pieces scheme-wise and personnel-wise around him to allow him to be free and more productive. When I say more productive, what? [16] sacks? That answers your question; the bar is set really high for a good reason.”

It wasn't just the raw sack numbers. Pro Football Focus graded Garrett at a career-high 92.5 out of 100 this season after he graded out at 92 in the 2021 season.

All of that was while dealing with a high number of double teams as well. According to ESPN Analytics, Garrett had the highest double-team rate in the league at 30%, but also was third in the league in pass-rush win rate at 27%.

That's the challenge Schwartz is dealing with in getting Garrett even more sacks. He looks at that challenge much like he did when he was the head coach of the Detroit Lions from 2009-13.

The challenge then involved getting touches for eventual Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver Calvin Johnson.

"When I was in Detroit, we always knew that every defensive plan started with how do we keep Calvin Johnson from taking this game over," Schwartz said. "That was job one — how do we keep that? It allowed you to play at different ways. You knew they were going to do stuff to take him away."

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With Garrett, the challenge is the same. The only difference is that instead of opening up the passing game, Schwartz is trying to get a player free to shut it down.

The roster Schwartz currently has to work with boasts talent in the secondary, especially at cornerback. That should bode well for a defensive coach who is almost the exact opposite of his predecessor, Joe Woods, in terms of preference in coverage scheme.

Schwartz is a believer in a man-to-man coverage. Woods, meanwhile, was a zone-coverage believer.

Neither are the key to neutralizing passing games in Schwartz's passing game.

"It is hard to win in coverage," Schwartz said. "The rules have changed. They make it hard to put hands on guys. … It is hard, and these guys, these wide receivers, are freak shows. You can still win one on one on pass rush, and a devastating pass rush goes a long way. You can create turnovers off of pass rush."

Schwartz's defenses at his most recent stop as a coordinator prior to coming to the Browns, with the Philadelphia Eagles from 2016-20, were renown for their pass-rush ability. The Eagles were a top-10 defense in sack rate each of those five seasons.

That's the goal with the Browns as well, especially with Garrett. The path there may not be the way some expect it to be, with a lot of exotic blitzes.

"You do not have to blitz just to get pressure," Schwartz said. "You can blitz based on the situation and based on the person as opposed to being forced to blitz to get pressure. Whether going back to my first years at Tennessee of having Jevon Kearse, Kevin Carter, (Albert) Haynesworth, (Kyle) Vanden Bosch and all of those guys in between and the guys I had in Detroit and Buffalo. … we hardly ever had to blitz to get pressure. Philadelphia, we based it the same way. We are going to put a lot of emphasis on pass rush, and Myles is a guy."

Not just "A guy" in Schwartz's scheme, Garrett is "THE guy."

Contact Chris at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Jim Schwartz wants to help Myles Garrett be 'free and more productive'