Myles Garrett vaults from third string into starting lineup

Back during OTAs and minicamp, Cleveland Browns rookie and No. 1 overall pick, Myles Garrett, was working with the third stringers. No longer.

Not surprisingly, the defensive end has been listed as a starter on the team’s first unofficial depth chart of the 2017 NFL preseason.

Given what we’ve heard recently about his progress, this is nothing but a formality. He has been displaying his trademark quickness with some regularity, even blowing past All-Pro Joe Thomas on one play.

Still, given the fact that fellow rookies Jabrill Peppers and David Njoku are both listed as reserves and that quarterback DeShone Kizer (who has gotten no small amount of buzz) is the third-string quarterback, this isn’t nothing. Hue Jackson doesn’t hand out starting jobs to players who haven’t earned them. And thus far, Garrett is clearly one of the top two defensive ends on Cleveland’s roster.

And that’s a great sign of things to come for this embattled franchise.