SAN FRANCISCO — As if there wasn’t any doubt, Myles Garrett has been named the 2025 Defensive Player of the Year, officially receiving the honor unanimously. NFL Thursday night honors. The award comes after the Cleveland Browns pass rusher had a record-setting year, breaking the single-season sack record with 23. This is the second time in Garrett’s career that he has won the DPOY award, the first being in 2023.

Garrett’s 23 sacks surpassed Michael Strahan (2001) and TJ Watt (2021), who jointly held the record with 22.5 sacks. In addition to his sack, Garrett also had 33 tackles for loss, the second-most in the NFL over the last 25 years. His 39 quarterback hits also ranked second in the league in 2025.

Former No. 1 overall pick in 2017 nfl draft He was head and shoulders above his peers when it came to sacking quarterbacks this season. Garrett had 6.5 more sacks this season than the next closest player (Brian Burns’ 16.5).

One of the criticisms of Garrett breaking the sack record is that the Browns’ pass rushers had the luxury of extra time as the NFL moves to an 18-week regular season (17 games) in 2021. However, as CBS Sports Research points out, Garrett actually collected fewer sacks than both Strahan and Watt this season.

In 2025, the Browns faced 562 dropbacks, the third-fewest in the NFL. When Strahan broke the record in 2001, his Giants faced 576 dropbacks. As for Watt, his Steelers faced 649 dropbacks when lined up with Strahan in 2021. This further highlights how impressive and dominant Garrett has been this season.

Garrett won the award over a group of finalists that included Will Anderson Jr. (Texans), Nick Bonitto (Broncos), Aidan Hutchinson (Lions) and Micah Parsons (Packers).