Myles Garrett Takes No. 1 Spot in NFL Top 100 After Record 23-Sack Season

What happened

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Myles Garrett has reached No. 1 in the NFL Top 100 Players of 2026, the annual ranking determined by player voting. NFL.com announced the final portion of the list on September 3, placing Garrett ahead of Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson. The recognition follows a 2025 season in which Garrett played all 17 games and produced 60 tackles, 33 tackles for loss, 23 sacks, 39 quarterback hits, three forced fumbles and one pass defensed.

The record behind the ranking

Garrett's 23 sacks established a new NFL single-season record and helped him secure the second Defensive Player of the Year award of his career, according to NFL.com's ranking summary. The honor put him among a select group of players with multiple DPOY awards. His broader record is equally consistent: seven Pro Bowl selections, including six in a row, five first-team All-Pro selections and eight consecutive seasons with double-digit sacks after recording seven as a rookie. NFL Pro data cited by the league also showed the attention he commanded from opposing protections. Garrett was chipped on a league-high 139 pass rushes in 2025 and faced 57 double-teams when aligned on the edge, the second-highest total in the NFL.

Why it matters

This vote is more than another individual trophy. It reflects how Garrett's peers assessed a season in which offenses devoted exceptional resources to slowing him and still could not keep him from setting the sack record. Defensive players rarely occupy the very top of rankings that include elite quarterbacks and high-volume offensive stars. Garrett's rise from No. 8 on the previous list to No. 1 therefore captures both the scale of his 2025 production and the respect it generated across the league.

Team and playoff impact

The ranking arrives after Garrett's offseason trade from the Cleveland Browns to the Los Angeles Rams. NFL.com notes that his Cleveland tenure produced two playoff appearances alongside a long list of personal honors. In Los Angeles, the competitive context changes. He joins a Rams roster that already placed quarterback Matthew Stafford at No. 4 and wide receiver Puka Nacua at No. 7 in the same player vote, giving the club the No. 1 player plus two more members of the top seven.

What to watch

The immediate question is how the Rams deploy Garrett and how opponents adjust protection plans around him. His 2025 numbers show that extra blockers alone did not erase his influence. The larger measure will come in the postseason race: whether the league's top-ranked player can translate record-setting pressure into the deeper team success that remained out of reach in Cleveland. The Top 100 result establishes the expectation clearly before the 2026 campaign begins.