As many football fans know, Linebacker Micah Parsons is for sure a top 5 linebacker in today’s NFL.
With 26.5 sacks, 149 tackles, and enough quarterback hurries forced to fill up AT&T Stadium itself, Parsons is without a doubt one of the best linebackers in the game right now. That’s not even mentioning that he has only played two seasons so far in the league.
The only problem is, Parsons never gets the attention he deserves. His skill is through the roof, but the NFL treats him like he’s mediocre.
In February, during the Defensive Player of the Year vote, Micah Parsons finished as the runner-up while Nick Bosa took home first place. Not bad, until you realize that Parsons didn’t receive one first-place vote.
This is very unfair, considering how well he did last season.
So when will this end? How many times are we going to see Parsons get disrespected by the media and the NFL?
Parsons is a player that is definitely one of the best, but never THE best. There’s never a heavy amount of evidence to go in favor of voting for Parsons as the winner (according to NFL voters).
Parsons is a player who always brings his best performance to every game, but it still seems like he’s not good enough for the award.
To the Dallas Cowboys fanbase, we see otherwise. Parsons doesn’t just get sacks and tackles, he changes the entire defense. When Parsons is on the field, the offense shifts their focus onto him, meaning it gives other Cowboys opportunities to attack.
Without Micah Parsons on the field, players like DeMarcus Lawrence, and Dorance Armstrong Jr. couldn’t have gotten the stats that they have if it weren’t for Parsons.
The NFL doesn’t see that though. They are only looking for stats when voting.
Am I saying that Parsons should have won last year? Most likely, but I definitely believe that Parsons should have received some first-place votes nonetheless.
Look at this year’s winner Nick Bosa compared with Micah Parsons’s stats. Nick Bosa had 18.5 sacks last season while Parsons had 13.5 sacks. Bosa had 41 solo tackles while Parsons had 42. Bosa had 2 forced fumbles while Parsons had 3 (and three recovered fumbles.)
So, all that matters is how many sacks you achieve? That’s not what the Defensive Player of the Year award is supposed to mean. It’s supposed to be awarded to a player that changes the team and is skilled in all areas, not just one.
Eventually, Parsons will in fact win the defensive award. Going into his third year, there’s still plenty of potential to be uncovered with his skill and ability.
Looking into the future it’s pretty easy to see that he will keep getting better and better as the years go on.
Next season will be the year were he will finally get the respect and attention he deserves from the NFL. Parsons will be walking away at the end of next season with the Defensive Player of the Year award in his pocket.
People will finally be looking through the eyes of a Cowboys fan at how Parsons’s skill and ability are growing not just upon himself, but the entire team.
