Apparently Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett didn’t have anything nice to say to one of his critics Monday, so the prospect who’s widely expected to be drafted first overall by the Browns on April 27 didn’t say anything at all.
Garrett made the rounds at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn., appearing on several shows and discussing his love of poetry and dinosaurs as well as his desire to help the Browns reverse their fortunes.
But Garrett skipped his scheduled interview on Mike and Mike because Anthony “Booger” McFarland was substituting for Mike Golic and co-hosting with Mike Greenberg.
A former defensive lineman who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts, McFarland explained on the air that he had questioned Garrett’s toughness and physicality in the past as an analyst for SEC Network.
“Everyone looks at the numbers that he put up at the combine, and they’re outstanding numbers, and the athletic ability says he’s going to be a hall of fame-type player,” McFarland said. “I haven’t always seen the athleticism translate into playmaking ability on the football field, nor have I seen the physicality. To me, that’s the one question I have. So in a day and age where we all are watching the combine saying, ‘Hey, there he is, he’s the No. 1 pick, best player ever,’ I’m just a little hesitant.
“I just look at the tape, and the tape never lies. And the tape has said that although he is a tremendous athlete, I just wonder and I’ve always wondered how much does he love playing defensive line and being hit and the collisions that take place time after time, because the tape says that he’s been hesitant to do that over the last couple years. It doesn’t mean it’s going to be that way in the NFL, but what I’ve seen in the past says that.”
Later on Russillo and Kanell, Garrett explained he backed out of his Mike and Mike appearance because he believes McFarland, who went to Louisiana State, is biased.
“I just don’t appreciate the kind of negativity and bias that he shows toward some guys, and I don’t feel like I should have to sit there and take that,” Garrett said. “I have no problem sitting on and taking criticism from anybody, but when it’s just bias, when he shows bias toward a certain team or a certain player and then spouts negativity to anybody else, it just doesn’t sit well with me.
“I have no problem with people saying, ‘He was weak against the run.’ But I got better against the run every single year. ‘He was weak against the run, but he played with a broken hand [Garrett had surgery in 2015 after his freshman season].’ There was things going on, and I knew I had to get better whether I was hurt or not and I worked on that. You can see it in my play. You can see it on the film. That didn’t sit well with me, I guess.”
Of course, Garrett’s reaction to McFarland’s criticism drew, well, more criticism.
“This is big-boy stuff,” Russillo and Kanell co-host Ryen Russillo said after he interviewed Garrett. “It’s not the end of the world if Booger McFarland criticized [Garrett]. I get [Garrett’s] answer. I kind of get where he’s coming from. I still think it’s the wrong move. Like just go on [Mike and Mike]. Who cares?”
Russillo also said he had no “major, major issue” with Garrett avoiding Mike and Mike, but his main contention is reasonable. If Garrett becomes the top pick as expected, he’ll be under a microscope, and enormous expectations will be placed upon him. So he’ll need to handle criticism well, whether it’s from McFarland or someone else.
To his credit, Garrett didn’t shy away from dealing with criticism earlier in the pre-draft process.
Some analysts have pointed out that Garrett racked up nearly half of his sacks in his three seasons at Texas A&M against weaker competition. Of his 32.5 sacks, 20.5 came against non-Southeastern Conference opponents and 16 came against non-Power Five opponents.
“A great team versus another great team, your performance is going to go down,” Garrett told SEC Network last month after his pro day. “But my job is to improve my consistency where when I dominate against the lesser teams, go and do well and do the same amount of work when I’m going against the Alabamas and the LSUs, and it will come.
“They’ll try to scheme against me and they have better guys and it helps, but I’m trying to show I can dominate against anybody.”
Another common criticism is Garrett took some plays off in college and didn’t always hustle to the ball. Two weeks ago at the NFL owners meetings, coach Hue Jackson said the Browns believe that stemmed from Garrett playing with a high-ankle sprain for most of last season.
“I know I’m getting after the ball when I can, and sometimes I’m not 100 percent [healthy] when I’m out there, but I’m trying to get after the passer, I’m trying to run down the back or just trying to do what I can to make a play,” Garrett said at the combine. “Nobody’s 100 percent every play — eight, nine plays down a drive. Sometimes you do look back and say, ‘I could have gave more effort’ or ‘I loafed right there.’ But you work on those things.”
Preseason opponents
The Browns’ preseason opponents were announced Monday.
• Week 1 (Aug. 10-14): New Orleans Saints
• Week 2 (8 p.m. Aug. 21): New York Giants
• Week 3 (Aug. 24-27): at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Week 4 (Aug. 31-Sept. 1): at Chicago Bears
Two notable facts about the exhibition games: The Browns and Giants will play in front of a national audience on Monday Night Football. And the Browns will also face the Bears in the regular season.
The dates and times of the preseason games will be announced later this month when then NFL unveils the regular-season schedule.
Coming to town
Washington cornerback Kevin King will make a pre-draft visit to the Browns this week, NFL Network analyst Charles Davis reported.
NFLDraftScout.com projects King to become a second-round pick.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.