Andrew Whitworth thinks Myles Garrett would change the Los Angeles Rams in a way that does not show up only on a stat sheet. Whitworth said Garrett’s play is obvious, but the bigger gain could be the standard he brings every day for younger defenders.
That is why Garrett is drawing attention now. He has 125.5 career sacks, a seventh Pro Bowl selection and a second NFL Defensive Player of the Year award in his latest standout run, and he is entering his 10th season in the league. Those numbers make him one of the NFL’s most accomplished pass rushers, but Whitworth’s point is that the Rams would be getting more than production if Garrett’s habits start filtering through a young front-seven.
The timing matters because the Rams have built that part of the defense around inexperience. Aaron Donald retired after the 2023 season, and heading into the 2026 season all but two of the Rams’ primary front-seven players were under the age of 30. A significant majority of the projected starters had three years or less of NFL experience before the Garrett deal, which means even small lessons in preparation, repetition and detail could carry more weight than they would on a veteran unit.
Whitworth’s argument was not abstract. He said young players could watch Garrett and try to work the way he does, day after day, in pursuit of craft and excellence. That sort of consistency, Whitworth said, is infectious. It can affect a locker room and the team around it. In practical terms, that matters most for the younger names on the defense, including Kobie Turner, Byron Young, Josaiah Stewart and Braden Fiske. They are the players most likely to benefit first because they are still building habits, while Garrett has spent nearly a decade refining his own.
There is still a built-in friction in the idea. Garrett’s obvious value is his ability to pressure the quarterback and finish plays. But Whitworth’s view is that his larger effect may come from the daily example he sets, not just the sacks he adds. For the Rams, that makes Garrett both a pass rusher and a template, and the second part may matter just as much as the first if the goal is to speed up the growth of a defense that is still being formed.
That is the real measure now: whether the Rams can turn Garrett’s routine into something younger defenders copy on their own. If they do, his impact will show up not only in the backfield, but in how quickly Kobie Turner, Byron Young, Josaiah Stewart and Braden Fiske become the kind of players who can carry the standard forward without him in the room.
