Myles Garrett improves on 40 time at Texas A&M pro day
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- After an exceptional performance at the NFL scouting combine earlier this month, potential No. 1 overall pick Myles Garrett had little to prove at Texas A&M's pro day Thursday.
He posted top-five marks among defensive linemen in front of all 32 teams in Indianapolis, including a 41-inch vertical jump and an impressive 4.64-second 40-yard dash, making an encore largely unnecessary. But he decided to run the 40 again anyway. Why?
"I wanted to do better," Garrett said.
The result: a slightly improved time of 4.62 seconds.
"I know I can still do better," said Garrett, who noted his personal best is 4.47 seconds.
Garrett said teams told him they want to see "relentless effort" from him.
"They said they didn't see it much last year and that's understandable," said Garrett, who also performed a 10-foot, 6-inch broad jump (2 inches shorter than his combine mark) on Thursday."But that's who I am and that's where I made a name for myself at first. So, I'm going to go back to my roots."
When asked what he thought he'll bring to a team as a pass-rusher, he said: "Wins."
Garrett is No. 1 on ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr.'s most recent big board. Thursday marked his final workout for NFL teams; he has no individual workouts remaining between now and draft day.
He recently had dinner with members of the Cleveland Browns' staff, including coach Hue Jackson and head of football operations Sashi Brown. The Browns hold the No. 1 overall pick.
Garrett said he also has meetings remaining with the San Francisco 49ers (No. 2 overall) and Chicago Bears (No. 3). Otherwise, the 6-foot-4, 272-pound defensive end will continue working out, prepping for his pro career.
"I have to be prepared for wherever I go," Garrett told ESPN.com. "If it's the Browns, I'm going up against one of the best tackles in the league [Joe Thomas] right away. No matter where I go, I'm going to be facing many other great tackles and great players. I have to be on my toes and keep my sword sharpened, ready to go."
Garrett, who compiled 32.5 sacks in three seasons at Texas A&M, said consistently throughout the draft process that he hopes to go No. 1 overall. He said dinner with the Browns went well and they were "satisfied with what they heard."
One criticism Garrett received in draft evaluations is the notion that he took plays off last season in order to preserve his health. Garrett told ESPN.com some teams he has spoken with have raised the topic with him.
"But if you look at the tape when I was healthy, I got off the ball every single time," said Garrett, who played the final two-thirds of the 2016 season with a high ankle sprain. "When I started recovering and I was doing well, I was getting after the ball, doing the best that I can, limping down the field or moving, trying to be a difference-maker. If you see me work, I'm trying to get to the ball every single time."
Garrett said he still plans to watch the draft from his home in Arlington, Texas, with family and friends, rather than attend it in Philadelphia. Consistent with his unassuming off-the-field persona, Garrett anticipates a relatively subdued reaction if he goes No. 1.
"If my name is called first, I'll probably sit there, look at my two best friends and laugh," Garrett said. "[Then] smile at my parents, give them hugs and go about eating my crawfish."
