Browns defensive star Myles Garrett chasing greatness, hoping for picture perfect season

BEREA, Ohio — Myles Garrett was in an unfamiliar, vulnerable position. Flat on his back.

Accustomed to shedding blockers to knock down quarterbacks, Cleveland’s All-Pro defensive end looked as if he might be ready to take a nap as he stretched out on a padded landing mat inside the Browns’ indoor field house this week.

With a Week 1 matchup against Joe Burrow and the Bengals approaching, Garrett was just soaking up a precious chance to relax after practice on an unusually toasty summer morning days ahead of Cleveland’s season opener.

The grind is about to get real — time to chase QBs and greatness.

Entering his seventh NFL season, the 27-year-old Garrett swung between playful and reflective during an interview — all done in a supine position — with the AP during which he discussed the massive upgrade to Cleveland’s defensive front and other topics ranging from baseball sensation Shohei Ohtani to the challenge of photographing birds.

First, he declined a Ping-pong match.

“How about pickleball?” countered Garrett, who recently joined an ownership group for a Major League Pickleball team in Texas — one of his many off-field interests.

Unmistakably, Garrett’s game is football, and few do it better than the 6-foot-5, 272-pounder who is never not in peak physical condition. He’s coming off a second straight 16-sack season, which was marred by a personal scare when he flipped his Porsche while speeding on a rural road following practice.

The one-car crash triggered criticism about his leadership, and much like his six-game suspension in 2019 for striking Pittsburgh quarterback Mason Rudolph in the head with a swung helmet, tarnished his image.

Before a second question could be asked, Garrett conveyed through a team spokesman that he didn’t want to discuss the accident.

That aside, Garrett’s in a good place mentally and physically…