Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett has been the presumptive No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft for pretty much the entire offseason. Rare is the mock draft that doesn't have Garrett going first overall, and rare is the analyst or scout that doesn't tab him as the best player in the draft.
Hall of Famer Warren Sapp, the former star defensive lineman for the Buccaneers and Raiders, is not a fan, and doesn't understand why Garrett is getting so much hype.
"I don't see it from this kid," Sapp said, per ESPN.com. "I see the splash plays; everybody gets those. Where's the game he took over? Where? Any defensive lineman who's the No. 1 pick, you turn up and you say, 'There it is!' This kid, no, I don't. I'm a pretty plain and frank guy, and I watch the tape and he disappears. I watch the tape, and he absolutely disappears."
Sapp says Garrett is the favorite to be the top pick solely because of his work at the NFL combine. "It's all about measurable," he said. "Once you hit the measurable, it's tough to get them old scout people off the numbers, and that's what [Garrett] has. He's big, and he's fast. Now some defensive line coach is thinking, 'I can turn him into something.' How? I'm trying to figure this out. Really? Are we lowering the bar?"
The last time the Browns had the No. 1 overall pick was back in 2000, and they used it on a defensive end: Courtney Brown of Penn State. Brown went on to play just six NFL seasons (five in Cleveland), totaling 184 tackles and 19 sacks. Sapp apparently thinks taking Garrett would be an even bigger mistake. "I don't think this kid is as good as Courtney Brown either," he said.
As Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio noted, it's somewhat odd that Adam Schefter, who is primarily a breaking news reporter, has written a story that appears to exist solely to communicate Sapp's opinion on the presumptive No. 1 pick. We're not going to speculate as to why he might have done so, but it's worth considering before you take the information at face value. Sapp's opinion notwithstanding, Garrett is still widely expected to come off the board before any other player come Thursday.