Countdown to Camp is a series breaking down the Rams roster by position group heading into training camp. The third installment examines the defensive line and outside linebackers.
The tape and the resume tell us what Myles Garrett will bring to the Rams defense. But because he arrived in Los Angeles the first week of June, his activity over those final two weeks of OTAs was understandably limited to just individual drills during his initial acclimation.
A longtime 4-3 defensive end, Garrett joins a defense that has primarily employed a 3-4 defensive front structure, and he initially worked with the outside linebackers. For a unit that already made headlines with the acquisitions of cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson, the integration of the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Garrett will be one of the biggest developmental pieces to this year's training camp.
"Obviously, we're still going to have our principals with that stuff, but we're going to let him do what he does best, and we all know exactly what he does best," defensive coordinator Chris Shula said on June 8. "You're not going to take Michael Jordan, LeBron (James), all those guys and pull them out of their comfort zone. We're going to work with him and put him in the best spots that we think for him and the defense to succeed."
Beyond the traditional statistics, Garrett has the second-most pressures over the last two seasons with 161, per Next Gen Stats. He set the NFL's single-season sack record last year despite facing 139 chip blocks, most in the NFL. Among players with at least 200 pass rushes in 2025, his average get-off time of 0.70 seconds ranked first in the league. Additionally, according to ESPN, Garrett won "more than 20% of his 448 pass-rushing attempts despite facing a double-team nearly 30% of the time."
Garrett also has the most sacks (83) and quick pressures (218) over the last five seasons.
Then there's this: According to ESPN research, 47 of Garrett's 125.5 career sacks came while his team was trailing. He now joins a team that had the No. 1 offense in the NFL in 2025, led by the league's reigning MVP, which in theory indicates there should be more opportunities to be in known passing situations for opponents – meaning, those opponents facing second- and third-and-longs trailing the Rams.
"I mean, that did play into the decision as well," Garrett said. "Knowing I have the ability, late-game to pin my ears back, not just because we need a play to be made, but because we have the lead and it's obvious passing downs, being able to make those game-changing plays to win the game for us, those are things that appeal to me, I'm sure appeal to all of us as d-lineman. So that is something I really look forward to."
