Myles Garrett might have locked up going No. 1 to Browns

INDIANAPOLIS — Resisting the urge to overreact to NFL scouting combine numbers is an exercise in restraint, but sometimes it’s just futile.

Case in point: Myles Garrett.

The Texas A&M pass rusher entered Indy as the presumed favorite to be picked first by the Cleveland Browns, and he will leave town likely even more entrenched in that position. The only thing that might change this is if the Browns — these are the Browns, yes — were to trade the pick. And yes, they’re fielding offers for No. 1, but it might take even more to get it now.

Garrett’s workout Sunday was sensational. Weighing in at a shade under 6-foot-4 and 273 pounds, he ran a scalding 4.64 40-yard dash, good for fifth-best among the DL/LB group. For comparison, there were five wide receivers who ran slower 40 times than Garrett did. His second attempt was a tenth of a second slower, but no one is complaining.

Straight-line speed is overrated perhaps, as Garrett might never run 40 yards in a line on a football field again. But his other athletic numbers — a 41-inch vertical jump and a 128-inch broad jump — were terrific. His vertical jump tied for 10th-best among the LB-DL group since 2006, and his broad placed him in the top 16 in that group over the past dozen years.

In addition, he racked out 33 reps on the bench press, which tied for second in the same group on Sunday behind Auburn’s Carl Lawson at 35. The feat is even more impressive when you consider Garrett’s freakishly long arms at 35 1/4 inches.

Sure, the tape is what matters. Some have nitpicked Garrett’s sack production against SEC competition, and he lost head-to-head battles against Laremy Tunsil in 2015 and Cam Robinson in 2016. Garrett also hasn’t exactly thrown bouquets at Cleveland through the process so far.

But he’s the best prospect in the draft, and it would be extremely risky for the Browns to pass on a potential game wrecker at No. 1 at this point. If the Browns don’t overthink it, they could have a Joey Bosa-like impact defender on the field to help upgrade one of the statistically worst units in the league last season.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

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