Myles Garrett is already a Hall of Famer, but former NFL defensive end Chris Long thinks he will have the opportunity to become an all-time great at his position now that he’s with the Los Angeles Rams.
Long, who is a former Rams star himself, recently said on his podcast that he thinks Garrett could play another eight seasons and break Bruce Smith’s 23-year NFL sack record of 200. He also thinks Garrett will become the first player with 100 sacks for two different teams.
“I just looked at 125.5 sacks in his nine-year career. I think there’s an interesting take here, and this is not a far-fetched scenario, but he plays another like eight years and accrues like 100 sacks—which for most people, that’s laughable to project that onto a player,” Long said. “But like, even into his 30s, I think this guy could average twelve and a half—12.5 sacks the rest of the way with the Rams. Especially if the Rams continue to play well and the Ty Simpson thing works out and all that stuff.
“But like, let’s say he plays another eight years. The reason I picked eight years is because Julius Peppers played like 17 years. I think you’re going to look up at the end of this thing and say, ‘Myles Garrett breaks Bruce Smith’s record, and Myles Garrett has 100-plus sacks on two different teams.'”
This would be a truly insane feat to accomplish in the modern NFL, but Garrett is built for it. He averages nearly 16 sacks per 17-game season and, if he stays healthy, could easily continue on that trajectory over the rest of his career.
The issue becomes whether Garrett wants to play into his late-30s or not and if he can sustain his excellence. Long thinks he can, and noted Peppers’ long NFL career. However, Peppers averaged just 10.2 sacks per 17-game season and only finished with more than 10 sacks four times from ages 30 to 38.
Looking at the other greats, Smith played for 19 years and 12.2 sacks per 17-game season, including six double-digit sack seasons from age 30 to 40. Reggie White, who has the second-most career sacks in NFL history at 198, averaged 14.5 per 17 games and played for 15 years.
Garrett only needs 75 sacks to officially break the 200-yard mark, meaning he needs to play a little more than 4.7 seasons at his current pace to break that record. If he stays healthy and productive, Long’s prediction is certainly obtainable.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Ex-NFL DE makes wild prediction for Myles Garrett’s career in L.A.
Reporting by Oliver G., Rams Wire / Rams Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
