Micah Parsons defends Myles Garrett winning AP Defensive Player of the Year

Micah Parsons wasn’t unhappy about Myles Garrett winning NFL Defensive Player of the Year… but Parsons may have undersold himself in the process.

Any time there are awards, there are people who will be Loud Mad about the winners of those awards. And on Thursday, when some of the Associated Press NFL awards came out in advance of the NFL Honors show, that certainly happened.

One instance happened when Cleveland Browns edge-rusher Myles Garrett took home the AP Defensive Player of the Year award, which had one fan comparing stats between Garrett, Pittsburgh Steelers edge-rusher T.J. Watt, and Dallas Cowboys edge-rusher Micah Parsons. This individual had a real problem with the Garrett selection… but Garrett himself didn’t take issue at all.

Here’s what’s interesting, though — per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics, Garrett was double-teamed on 90 of his pass-rush snaps, and he totaled four sacks and 15 total pressures when he was doubled.

Parsons, on the other hand, faced double-teams on 117 of his pass-rushing snaps, and he compiled three sacks and 27 total pressures when he was doubled.

So, it was quite generous of Parsons to stand up for Garrett (spoiler: I’m an AP voter, and I voted for Parsons), and as far as making an impact with double-teams, Parsons was still The Man in 2023.

Even presented with the numbers, Parsons was firm in his opinion, which you certainly have to respect.