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Cleveland Browns edge defender Myles Garrett took home the PFF Dwight Stephenson award — given to the NFL’s best player, regardless of position — so the title of Defensive Player of the Year becomes a bit of a formality.
YOUR NEW ALL-TIME SINGLE-SEASON SACK LEADER:
— PFF (@PFF) January 4, 2026
MYLES GARRETT 🏆 pic.twitter.com/JfnXdAbsqK
For the fourth consecutive year, Garrett has claimed the honor of highest-graded defender in the NFL, behind a 92.7 PFF overall grade this season. Each of those four campaigns ranks in the top 12 among all qualifying defensive linemen in the PFF era (since 2006).
The NFL’s new single-season sack leader is the league’s gold standard as a pass rusher, with his record-breaking 23.0 sacks standing 6.5 sacks higher than any other player in 2025. But it’s not only plays that end in a sack that make Garrett a prolific pass rusher; it’s the consistency with which he makes his presence felt. Powered by a 24.6% pass-rush win rate, Garrett led the NFL with a 93.3 PFF pass-rush grade.
Being an explosive pass rusher does much of the heavy lifting in winning this award, but to take home the hardware, a player must be dominant in multiple facets of the game. Garrett fits that to a T, with his 13 tackles for loss or no gain ranking in the top eight among all defenders and his 82.5 PFF run-defense grade ranking in the top five among defensive linemen.
Paired together, Garrett stands as the only defensive lineman in 2025 to generate a 90.0-plus PFF pass-rush grade and an 80.0-plus PFF run-defense grade. He more than earned his third consecutive PFF Defensive Player of the Year trophy.