Photo Courtesy: The Dallas Cowboys Football Club
The accolades piled up for rookie sensation Micah Parsons during his first-year campaign in Dallas, culminating in another on Thursday evening. At the NFL Honors presentation from L.A., Parsons was named the unanimous NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. He becomes the first player in franchise history to win the award following a historical output on the gridiron.
“Without God, I would not be here,” Parsons remarked after accepting the award on stage.
Playing for his childhood favorite team, Parsons delivered arguably the most dominant performance since Lawrence Taylor entered the league in 1981. The Cowboys drafted Parsons 12th overall to play linebacker but after seeing his rare combination of size, speed and power during training camp from various roles, defensive coordinator Dan Quinn built the foundation of the defense around his versatility. The Penn State product was given a heavy workload, which continued throughout the 2021 season as he learned pass rush stunts and blitz packages from both defensive end and linebacker weekly. In Week 2, when DeMarcus Lawrence broke his foot and Randy Gregory landed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, Quinn moved Parsons to full-time defensive end against the Chargers. Whether it was plunging through the A-gap to knockdown the quarterback or outpacing a runner to the sideline to cut off an outside lane, Parsons made his mark donning the Star lining up in multiple spots.
He finished second on the team with 80 tackles, registered 20 tackles for loss and three pass breakups on the season showcasing his sideline-to-sideline range. Then with his pass rush prowess, Parsons compiled 13 sacks (franchise record) despite the part-time role. After not having played football in 2020 as an opt out, Parsons finished sixth in the NFL in sacks and fourth in pressures (67) on 307 pass-rush snaps. His rare closing speed became a nightmare for quarterbacks and offensive coordinators around the league.
He was the only rookie this season to earn first-team All-Pro and the only rookie defender named to the Pro Bowl – a telling feat. The young superstar has only scratched the surface.
