The Dallas Cowboys had a plan for the 2021 NFL draft.
If cornerbacks Patrick Surtain and Jaycee Horn were off the board, take linebacker Micah Parsons, their top-graded defensive player. The 12th-overall pick made a name for himself during his days at Penn State days by running downhill, attacking ball carriers and rushing the quarterback up the middle.
Parsons also slid outside and showcased a knack to get the quarterback from the edge. This offseason, the Cowboys have experimented with that aspect of his game and it’s caught the eye of his new defensive coordinator Dan Quinn
“The pass-rushing part of him, he has really picked up where he left off,” Quinn said of Parsons’ play now and the last time he was on the field in 2019, via ESPN. “He really had good speed off the edge. That part of the game is intact. Now we are working on behind the ball things: Man to man, playing zone, blitzing from off the ball. Those are things we can feature and assess.”
Quinn wasted no time using Parsons in the DPR role (designated pass rusher) during minicamp as the former Nittany Lion was seen coming off the edge at the first practice. He’s still in the learning process of perfecting that on the professional level, but Parsons is eager to be a difference-maker when called upon.
“Just creating havoc, creating disruption,” Parsons said. “Being able to create that excitement, momentum change, a chance to get the ball out and get it back to our explosive offense. That’s kind of what I like about pass rushing.”
Seeing as the Cowboys used such a high draft pick on Parsons it isn’t surprising that they are trying to get their money’s worth out of him. Yes, he will primarily play linebacker with any combination of Jaylon Smith, Leighton Vander Esch, and Keanu Neal alongside him, but his ability to rush from the edge could see fellow rookie Jabril Cox get more snaps at linebacker on passing downs and allow him to use his excellent skills in coverage on running backs and tight ends.
Parsons played defensive end during his days at Harrisburg High School in Pennsylvania where he racked up 9.5 sacks as a senior. Although the aforementioned Lawrence and Randy Gregory are the projected starters at defensive end, Parsons wants to use his skills as a blitzer to add more firepower to the Cowboys pass rush, which he explained a few weeks ago.
“Last week we were watching film of pass rush and D-Law came up to me and was like, ‘You pass rush like that, rook?'” Parsons said. “I was like, ‘Yeah, I used to be a defensive end.’ He was like, ‘All right, tap in with me.’ Me and him have been getting closer. If he’s out there, he’ll help me out and we’ll talk a little bit. Coming up here after OTAs are over, we’re going to work together before camp starts.”
Parsons has a chance to be a jack of all trades or a swiss army knife for the Cowboys defense in 2021, which the unit will need as they look bounce-back from arguably the franchise’s worst performance in it’s history on that side of the ball in 2020.
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