Micah Parsons took the NFL by storm in his first season with the Dallas Cowboys. The versatile linebacker ran away with the defensive rookie of the year honors after a breakout season with 84 total tackles and 13 sacks.
Could he have been a Detroit Lion? Parsons, who was drafted No. 12 overall, believes it was going to happen before the draft.
On a recent episode of The Pivot podcast with former NFLers Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder and Fred Taylor, Parsons talked about his belief that he was headed to Detroit.
“I remember at the (Penn State) pro day, the Lions was like, ‘Man, if you on the clock, we taking you,’” Parsons said. “So, I was like, ‘Man, I could be a Lion right now.’”
He’s not bitter about it. Parsons understood the allure of Penei Sewell at No. 7 overall for Detroit. He even acknowledged he might have made the same decision the Lions front office did, given Sewell’s high-end game at offensive tackle.
“So, days before the draft, word got out that the Bengals were going to take (WR) Ja’Marr (Chase) instead of Penei (Sewell). So the Lions was like, ‘If Penei is here, he could be a generational lineman.’ So, you gotta take him to protect the quarterback, which makes a lot of sense, because linemen have a lot more value than linebacker if you only playing one position.”
It’s not uncommon for players to come away from meetings with teams believing they will be that team’s draft pick. It’s part of the draft rigamarole every year. Parsons became an outstanding NFLer right away in part because the Cowboys played him extensively as a pass rusher and not off-ball. The Lions later drafted Derrick Barnes in the position Parsons would have played in Detroit, and Barnes had just 18 pass rush attempts all season despite the fact Barnes was an accomplished pass rusher at Purdue.
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