I had the opportunity this weekend to do something I’ve been trying to do with my dad and brothers for years. We stayed in an RV out on a ranch for the entire weekend, and I’m actually writing this article before we’ve packed up to go.
It was a weekend of cooking over an open flame, imbibing by an open fire, and enjoying colder temperatures than we are used to this far down south.
Don’t get me wrong.
This wasn’t some trip where we completely detached from the world.
Our host has an incredible patio area that features a 70″ television, where we watched the Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens emerge victorious yesterday.
Watching so many good players on the field made me wish my Dallas Cowboys had performed a little better this season.
It’s strange to be focusing on the NFL draft so early in the postseason, but the Cowboys earned where they currently stand.
A 7-10 team doesn’t usually have too many individual player accolades to brag about, but the Cowboys had three players land on the AP All-Pro teams. WR/KR KaVontae Turpin was the only 1st-team selection, and WR CeeDee Lamb and K Brandon Aubrey made it in as 2nd-team selections.
There was one notable player who I believed deserved at least a 2nd-team selection, but was left out of the prestigious list.
Did this Cowboys defender get snubbed for All-Pro?
The Lion Lies In Wait
Cowboys EDGE defender Micah Parsons is one of the best pass-rushers the NFL has to offer, and he is often considered the most talented on the short list of elite defenders.
However, the voters did not feel he warranted a place on that list this year.
Parsons, for the first time in his career, will not have an “AP All-Pro” listed next to his name to summarize his season. He has made the AP All-Pro team every season since he was drafted by the Cowboys in 2021.
He missed four games with a high-ankle sprain, but was a menace when he returned, leading the NFL in most pass-rushing categories over the final nine-game stretch.
Those four games might have been what deterred the voters, but was his absence during the month of October the only reason for the snub?
Maybe the players ahead of him were just that good. Let’s take a look at who was voted in over Micah before we dive into his stats.
- Myles Garrett, Cleveland (14.0 sacks)
- Trey Hendrickson, Cincinnati (17.5 sacks)
- TJ Watt, Pittsburgh (11.5 sacks)
- Nik Bonnito, Denver (13.5 sacks)
- Andrew Van Ginkel, Minnesota (11.5 sacks)
How Does Micah Compare?
First of all, we must understand that the majority of the time with these awards, stats are what pop out the most to voters.
For edge rushers, the primary stat is sacks.
All-Pro selections are usually given to the players with the most sacks, and rarely is true impact taken into consideration.
With that being said, I believe that Parsons’ 12.0 sacks in just 13 games should have been enough to get him in over TJ Watt or Andrew Van Ginkel.
Stats like QB pressures and QB hits are rarely featured when talking about these edge rushers, but Parsons has better numbers than most in those hidden stats.
Let’s break down the sacks in average sacks per game and see how they stack up:
- Micah Parsons: 0.92 sacks per game
- Trey Hendrickson: 1.03 sacks per game
- Myles Garrett: 0.82 sacks per game
- Nik Bonnito: 0.79 sacks per game
- Andrew Van Ginkel: 0.67 sacks per game
- TJ Watt: 0.67 sacks per game
If you look at it through that lens, Parsons ranked second in the NFL in sacks per game, and also ranked near the top of the NFL in all other pass-rushing stats.
This definitely deserves a deeper dive, but on the surface, it’s safe to say that Micah Parsons was snubbed for the AP All-Pro team.