After setting the single-season record for sacks with 23.0 last year, it’s fair to expect Cleveland Browns superstar pass-rusher Myles Garrett to take a step backward here in 2026. After all, Roger Maris hit only 33 homers in the season after he broke Babe Ruth’s home-run record with 61, and Wilt Chamberlain scored a pedestrian 58 points in the game after he put up 100 back in 1962. It would be unfair to expect Garrett to do much more than he did in 2025.
Except that teammate Maliek Collins, who had a career-high 6.5 sacks while playing tackle, often alongside Garrett, says that we have not yet even seen the best that Garrett will offer in his career. That’s hard to believe when it comes to a guy who has been the Defensive Player of the Year Award winner twice, but Collins does not see Garrett slowing down.
And that’s a scary notion for NFL offensive linemen everywhere.
Maliek Collins: Myles Garrett ‘Is so Raw’
Speaking on the podcast of former NFL star lineman Terron Armstead this week, Collins said that the rest of the league should be aware that the Browns star still has more in the tank. Garrett, at age 30, is entering his 10th season in the NFL.
“Myles Garrett is incredible,” Collins said. “I don’t even think he’s at his peak yet, though, man. Like, man I am telling you. When he wrote out 25 on his arm—I know it is hard, the 23 sacks, the Jordan Brand and all that, that was a fire roll out and all that. But he got more. I can see him getting more.
“I know it is hard, getting five sacks in a game, and 4.5 and like that. But dude is so raw. There is so much he can grow into, too. I don’t think people understand that. It’s crazy. Superhuman, you know what I am saying?”
Browns Defensive Front Benefits
Collins also explained how playing alongside Garrett helps the entirety of the Browns defensive front. Obviously, Garrett is a sure bet to be double-teamed when he is lined up on passing downs, but he will almost always get attention from the tight end, too, and force the opposing center to be aware of his presence, too.
Collins has played 10 seasons in the NFL, and the Browns are his fifth team, but he said he has never had an experience like that when lining up with another pass-rusher. He also said he is looking forward to finding different ways to attack now that he is heading into Year 2 of his Browns tenure.
Browns Will Get Creative With Myles Garrett
The Browns will have a new defensive coordinator, Mike Rutenberg, replacing Jim Schwartz, but Collins said the front will continue to keep up the pressure.
Said Collins: “I done faced a lotta, lotta double-teams in my career. This year might have been the most singles that I had just because the attention of the guard looking at him. But also, me and him on the same side, it is kinda iffy, too, because you got the tight end right there, chipping us, staying in on protection, you got the tackle, then you got the guard, and you know you’re getting the center slides, too.
“So, it’s like, how creative can we get with this?”
Browns Star Sends Wild Myles Garrett Warning to NFL