Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons is one of the most feared players in the NFL. Entering his fourth season in the league, he has cemented his status as one of the most dominant players.
That level of respect is reflected by the positional rankings shared by Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. He spoke to NFL executives, coaches and scouts to rank players around the league among their positional peers.
Micah Parsons came in at No. 3 among edge rushers. Only defending Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns and T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers finished ahead of the Dallas Cowboys star.
“If you put him at outside linebacker all game, in the same traditional spot, I’m not sure he’d have the same production,” a veteran NFL defensive coach said. “He needs to be moved around, in my opinion. But he’s so good in that role that he completely wrecks a game.”
Micah Parsons lacks the size or a normal edge rusher, but he hasn’t let that slow him down. He has made the Pro Bowl all three seasons he has been in the NFL, recording at least 13 sacks every season.
Now considered a full-time pass rusher, not a hybrid off-ball linebacker, the Dallas Cowboys have fully unleashed the Penn State product. His spot behind Garrett and Watt could be because of his lack of impact as a run defender.
“Unreal athleticism for the position — twitch, speed and bend is phenomenal,” an NFL coordinator said. “His issues are really more in the run game than anything else. When he has to take on heavy stuff, that’s where you feel the lack of size a bit.”
Finishing third is certainly an achievement. But, Micah Parsons did take offense to one statistic mentioned on the ESPN piece.
They noted he recorded 14 sacks in 2023 despite being double-teamed 167 times. That is the most among edge rushers in the NFL, but he believes that number is much higher than 167.
Whatever the official number of double teams Micah Parsons has faced is, the number is very high. There isn’t a player in the NFL who faces them more often than the Dallas Cowboys star, who averages nearly 10 per game.
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