Dallas Cowboys’ Micah Parsons drawing MVP consideration as ‘most versatile player’
Dallas Cowboys linebacker sensation Micah Parsons, the odds-on favorite to win NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors, isn’t conceding the race for NFL Defensive Player of the Year just yet.
However, with 21.5 sacks — one away from tying Michael Strahan’s all-time single season sack record of 22.5 — Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt is the overwhelming favorite.
Parsons said he has not concerned himself with Watt’s production this season. “I don’t pay attention to it,” Parsons said of Watt and the DPOY award conversation. “I ain’t making his money. And he ain’t making my money. He do what he do. And I’m going to what I do.”
But Parsons is fully aware that that the Steelers’ season could be over by the middle of Sunday afternoon, while the NFC East champion Cowboys will scoreboard-watch the late afternoon games to see which team they’ll host in the first round of the postseason. “All I know is ... I am going to prepare for a playoff game next week,” Parsons said recently.
So while the all-time sack record is certainly impressive, Parsons takes solace in the fact that he’ll be playing for something more than an individual trophy this season. Additionally, he relishes the overall impact that he has had on his team, and in that regard Parsons is taking a backseat to no one.
Picked 12th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, Parsons has played all over the field as a linebacker, defensive end and inside pass rusher. He has led the transformation of a defense that went from one of the worst in franchise history in 2020 into one that is leading the NFL in turnovers and ranks seventh in points allowed, helping the Cowboys get back to the postseason for the first time in three years.
“I take complete pride in being the most versatile player in the NFL,” Parsons said recently. “I think I would put myself up there with the elite guys around the league in terms of impacting the game. It definitely hasn’t been a one-man job. The DBs help me a lot by being able to hold the receivers so that way I can get the pressure and sacks and things like that. [But] I think I do a lot of very different things on the defense that changes the game.”
And it’s not like Parsons doesn’t have sensational stats of his own, especially for a rookie. Going into Saturday night’s game at Philadelphia, he led the Cowboys with 13 sacks, 30 quarterback hits and a league-leading 20 tackles for loss. He also has three forced fumbles and three pass deflections.
With 84 tackles, Parsons is the first player in the NFL in nine seasons to have at least 13 sacks and more than 80 tackles. Earlier in the week, Parsons tested positive for COVID-19 and he so he was ruled out of the game per NFL rules. He needed two sacks in the season finale against the Eagles to break Jevon Kearse’s 22-year-old rookie sack record of 14.5.
But Parsons’ versatility is really what sets him apart as he does whatever the team needs him to do. According to Pro Football Focus, he has the second-best pass-rush pressure percentage in the NFL among all players and the fifth-best run-stop percentage. There is no question he would have more sacks if he rushed the quarterback exclusively as defensive end.
He takes pride and ownership in his all-around impact. “I never just play one position,” Parsons said. “I feel like if I could just rush, I might be an 18-20 sack guy, too. If I stayed in pass coverage and ran to the ball, I’d be a 100-tackle guy, too.
“Because of my abilities I’ve got to own certain things throughout the game,” he continued. “I’ve got to own a role throughout the game so that way I can put my team in the best position to win. I take a lot of ownership because I feel like if I want to be on the field, I’ve got to be able to do anything asked of me or more.
“When it comes to terms like that of just impacting the game, I would definitely put myself up there with those guys as being defensive player [of the year].”
Parsons said he is having fun during a rookie season that appears to have come so easy to him, saying it’s as he’s back on the playground in his hometown of Harrisburg, Penn.
“I just like lining up everywhere and just being dynamic,” he said. “It’s almost like being at recess for me. I feel like I’m a kid again, like let me go tackle my buddy, let me go cover my buddy and I’m going to go tackle. It’s a whole bunch of fun for me. I just really enjoy it.”
This story was originally published January 5, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
