Former Texas A&M star Myles Garrett wins AP Defensive Player of the Year
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Thursday night’s announcement of the winner of the 2025 AP Defensive Player of the Year award was not a surprise. It wasn’t a mystery. It was an acknowledgement of what the league already knew — the best defender in the sport lines up on the edge of the Cleveland Browns defense.
After breaking the NFL’s single-season sacks record, Myles Garrett won his second career Defensive Player of the Year award. Garrett collected all 50 first-place votes, joining JJ Watt (2014) as the only unanimous award winners.
“I’m thankful for every single one of my teammates that helped get me up here,” Garrett said during the NFL Honors show while accepting the award.
Garrett, 30, led the NFL with 33 tackles for loss this season. His 23 sacks are the most in NFL history, passing TJ Watt and Michael Strahan (22.5) to own the record. He also logged a career-high-tying 60 tackles.
The former Texas A&M Aggie was also voted to his seventh Pro Bowl and selected to the All-Pro team for the fifth time in his career. He was also a unanimous first-team All-Pro selection.
Garrett becomes the ninth player in NFL history to win multiple AP DPOY awards.
Cleveland went just 5-12 this season, and Garrett was a singular focus for opponents every single week. Still, Garrett was the highest-graded pass-rusher in the league among qualified players, with a 93.3 grade from PFF. His 92.7 defensive grade was also the second-best among qualified defenders.
Across 9 NFL seasons — all with the Browns — Garrett has 125 career sacks and 149 TFLs. He has at least 14 sacks in 5 straight seasons.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
