Getty Chris Garrett of the Los Angeles Rams chases after Nathan Peterman during the Las Vegas Raiders' 17-16 preseason win on Saturday in Inglewood.
The last time Los Angeles Rams rookie outside linebacker Chris Garrett collected a sack in a live game? That was 651 days ago.
Pick No. 252 in the 2021 NFL Draft hadn’t tussled down a quarterback since November 9, 2019 – when he finished with three sacks in a NCAA Division II contest against Southwest Minnesota State.
But one look at the stat sheet from Saturday night against the Las Vegas Raiders and it’s an indicator that the 23-year-old Garrett is shedding any kind of rust he’s had in chasing down quarterbacks.
“I got a little in the zone there, made a bunch of plays and it was fun just getting out there, getting that adrenaline back. That was nice,” Garrett told the L.A. media near the 6:10 mark of the postgame presser video.
A defender who fell all the way to the seventh round and is making the jump from Division II to the NFL looked every bit like the record-setting sack artist from his small school days despite the 17-16 loss at SoFi Stadium. But he insists that his dilemma heading into the league was never coming from a non-Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) or Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) program.
His true obstacle? Re-awakening his rushing skills that was last used on that November day before the threat of coronavirus took away his 2020 campaign.
“The biggest thing wasn’t that I was St. Paul’s small school. It was more that I missed the 2020 season and just adjusting to that,” Garrett said. “But, every day it was a big emphasis: Just do better than the day before and I’ve slowly gotten better.”
Garrett Energized the Defensive Stars on the Rams
Garrett was the trench wrecker and aerial disruptor in Inglewood against the Silver and Black. The Concordia-St. Paul representative’s final stats?
.@Garrettchris52 had himself a NIGHT 😤
And it was the sack that sent Aaron Donald, Sebastian Joseph-Day and other Ram defenders into celebration mode seen here.
.@Garrettchris52 bringin’ the 💪💪💪
Garrett used one defensive chess move to beat the Raiders’ protection on that sack/fumble.
“They gave me the tight end/wing type of set and I was just like ‘Let me get wider than it. I’m not trying to get chipped inside and have to bully my way through.’ So I got wider than them,” Garrett explained.
He proved to be too quick for the left tackle responsible for him. Plus the left guard who tried to pick up his rush was already too late…and Nathan Peterman felt a thud on his back then lost control of the football. But that wasn’t his only highlight captured.
Garrett hit a stutter step before cutting inside to the right of the left tackle, then got his hands up to give a present to the safety Reed.
.@Jr_Reed1 with the pick!!
“The tip pass, I knew they were giving us quick game. So I knew I had to do some type of speed to power (move) and I got home on it,” Garrett said.
‘I Almost Tapped’
So not all was perfect for the 252nd selection of this past draft as he was on the field for 30 defensive plays, the most among the linebacker group according to Pro Football Focus. Garrett admitted he was getting gassed.
“All my mentality is next play. I was tired, I almost tapped. I almost tapped,” Garrett said.
Likely understandable for some, considering he hadn’t gotten on the sacks stat sheet in more than 600 days. Garrett, however, kept reminding himself to keep pushing.
“But it was ‘just go,'” Garrett said. “It was fun.”
Head coach Sean McVay spoke highly of Garrett’s impact.
“He did a great job. Made a big impact. You could see he was applying pressure consistently,” McVay said after the game. “And really you’ve seen him start to make steady improvements.”
And the improvement comes from consistent practice reps for Garrett as McVay pointed out plus leaning on knowledge from the others in the Rams’ LB room. Those elements, Garrett said, boosted his confidence for this preseason matchup with him saying “I was super confident coming into this game.”
Although, Garrett was apprehensive coming into his first NFL training camp, since he hadn’t practiced against linemen in awhile.
“I was a little shaky, I’ll be honest,” Garrett said in reflecting back. “Because I hadn’t played in so long and didn’t have a body in front of me. You can’t simulate a body, so it was a little shaky.”
Now, whatever nerves and rust from that 651-day layover from his last sack was tossed out against the Raiders. And each passing day, Garrett’s confidence grows.
“Every day, the coaches will tell you they can see my swag take off,” Garrett said.