Rams' Myles Garrett Says He Can Still Win DPOTY

Los Angeles Rams defensive end Myles Garrett has made a very bold claim. Despite missing seven games of the regular season, he still believes that he can win Defensive Player of the Year.

Garrett joined Rich Eisen to speak about his time with the team and his return from injury. While there was some back-and-forth about him linking up with fellow defensive standout Micah Parsons, Eisen asked point-blank if the Rams defender could still win DPOTY.

"Absolutely," Garrett said.

Eisen pointed to Garrett not stuttering when he spoke, and the Los Angeles defensive end emphatically stated that he could win the award based on how impactful he is moving forward. 

"Nothing to stutter about. Now there's, I don't know, how many games left. So, I just try to take it one game at a time and know it's a matter of, you know, impact and presence and how much disruption you create," Garrett said.

It might sound a bit strange that Garrett believes that he can win DPOTY despite missing out on practically having the regular season, but it is his performance in Week 9 that should raise some eyebrows.

Even after a lengthy injury layoff, Garrett secured three sacks and a forced fumble. He even admitted to not playing up to his standard at the start of the game. 

With those three sacks, he moved into a tie for 51st in the league. Granted, that is not near the top 10 or anywhere like that, but he did have a multi-sack game. Having multi-sack games is already very difficult to accomplish.

If Garrett were to pick up another three sacks in Week 10, that would shoot him into No. 11. This is assuming the other players near the top do not also get any sacks in their own respective games.

Still, Garrett is the kind of pass rusher who does impact games in the manner that he did against the Washington Commanders.

The Rams are set to face off against the Arizona Cardinals, which is a team that is likely to have plenty of struggles against Garrett. 

Los Angeles has more to worry about than Garrett, which is why he was also given those opportunities to get after Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels.

With a pass rush that includes Aaron Donald, Byron Young, and more, expect that Garrett will get loose because opposing offenses have too many players to worry about. While the reigning Defensive Player of the Year might be the one to be accounted for, the Cardinals may fall victim to too many options to block.

Garrett also set the single-season sack record in 2025 with 23.0. He stated that he would aim to surpass that in 2026, and he could still find a way to do just that.

It will take a lot of luck and work to even get back into double digits, but that appears to be the goal that Garrett is setting out to accomplish. 

It would be very impressive and unbelivable if Garrett were to still win the DPOTY award, despite missing seven games thus far.