CLEVELAND — The Browns season is over but awards season has just begun and for defensive end Myles Garrett, the accolades are steadily pouring in, most recently being voted Pro Football Writers of America's Defensive Player of the Year.
On Tuesday, Garrett won the Professional Athlete of the Year award at the 2024 Greater Cleveland Sports Awards. Not even 24 hours later, Garrett took home a national award.
By being voted the Defensive Player of the Year by PFWA, Garrett's first DPOY honor from the group, he also made Browns history. Garrett is the first Browns player to receive the honor since it was instituted in 1992.
This season, Garrett recorded 14 sacks, four forced fumbles, and 42 total tackles with 17 tackles for loss and 30 QB hits. Garrett is the only active player in the NFL with 10 or more sacks in each of the last six seasons and is just the seventh player ever to record such a stat.
But Garrett's impact goes far beyond the stat sheet. While he didn't lead the league in sacks, which has been the go-to stat for this award, his impact on opposing offenses, which is what Defensive Player of the Year truly stands for, is undeniable.
"I think regardless of how much he played through, he played at a really high level for us down the stretch," Browns General Manager Andrew Berry said at his end-of-season press conference Monday. "Probably the larger point for me is I know the focus is on sack numbers, but the reality of it is that really doesn't tell the whole story or even enough of the story to be honest. He's the Defensive Player of the Year."
Berry was right when it came to the PFWA's award.
Here are the PFWA's past DPOY winners by year:
1992 — DT Cortez Kennedy, Seattle Seahawks
1993 — DE Bruce Smith, Buffalo Bills
1994 — CB Deion Sanders, San Francisco 49ers
1995 — LB Bryce Paup, Buffalo Bills
1996 — DE Bruce Smith, Buffalo Bills
1997 — DT Dana Stubblefield, San Francisco 49ers
1998 — DE Reggie White, Green Bay Packers
1999 — DT Warren Sapp, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2000 — LB Ray Lewis, Baltimore Ravens
2001 — DE Michael Strahan, New York Giants
2002 — LB Derrick Brooks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2003 — LB Ray Lewis, Baltimore Ravens
2004 — S Ed Reed, Baltimore Ravens
2005 — LB Brian Urlacher, Chicago Bears
2006 — DE Jason Taylor, Miami Dolphins
2007 — S Bob Sanders, Indianapolis Colts
2008 — LB James Harrison, Pittsburgh Steelers
2009 — CB Charles Woodson, Green Bay Packers
2010 — LB Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers
2011 — LB Terrell Suggs, Baltimore Ravens
2012 — DE J.J. Watt, Houston Texans
2013 — DE Robert Quinn, St. Louis Rams
2014 — DE J.J. Watt, Houston Texans
2015 — DE J.J. Watt, Houston Texans
2016 — DE Khalil Mack, Oakland Raiders
2017 — DE Calais Campbell, Jacksonville Jaguars
2018 — DT Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams
2019 — CB Stephon Gilmore, New England Patriots
2020 — DT Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams
2021 — LB T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh Steelers
2022 — DE Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers
2023 — DE Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns
Garrett will learn if he's earned those same honors in the Associated Press' award voting on Feb. 8 at NFL Honors.
