Chris Garrett bringing "relentless" approach to Rams defense

Chris Garrett bringing "relentless" approach to Rams defense

Stu Jackson
Staff Writer


An overlooked prospect in high school, outside linebacker Chris Garrett's options were also limited.

He said he had lots of walk-on opportunities, but because of his family's financial situation, he couldn't afford to talk on to a school like Wisconsin. So he landed at Division II Concordia-St. Paul because it offered him the most money.

Even though it was a smaller school, it would not deter him from his ultimate goal of getting drafted into the NFL.

"Playing at a small school and getting noticed, you have to stand out a lot," Garrett said during a video conference with reporters after getting drafted 252nd overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. "You have to make plays, you have to do all the extra stuff too so when they see your film, they know you're different than everybody else you're on the field with. I think I did that just with how relentless I played. Every other play I'm trying to get the ball out and just in my pursuit of the quarterback, for an example, I don't think it was matched. I don't think it was matched just how relentless I've played."

Such is the approach he brings with him to the Rams after they used their final selection on him in the seventh round on Saturday.

Prior to his arrival in Los Angeles, that approach manifested itself at or near the top of multiple program and Division II record lists, including:

Setting the career Division II forced fumbles record with 15
Averaging the third-most sacks per game in Division II history with 1.30
Setting the Concordia-St. Paul program record, ranking 13th in Division II history with 36.5 career sacks
Ranking 14th in Division II career history with 1.73 tackles for loss per game
All in just 28 games over three seasons.

Full Article
[www.therams.com]