Former Penn State linebacker [autotag]Micah Parsons[/autotag] may have been the unanimous defensive rookie of the year in the NFL in 2021, but the Dallas Cowboys linebacker knows he and teammate Trevon Diggs have a little work to do before being compared to the Super Bowl-winning combo of Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey with the Los Angeles Rams.
“It’s hard to say we’re the best because I know we’re young and we still make mistakes,” Parsons said in an interview with USA TODAY Sports. “It’s hard to put us over Aaron Donald, the greatest defensive player in history, with Jalen Ramsey. So I won’t do it yet. But I think we can become them or even better if we learn together and stick together.”
Donald has established himself as one of the all-time great defensive linemen in NFL history with three Defensive Player of the Year awards to his name. Ramsey is also a three-time All-Pro who forces opposing quarterbacks to think twice before throwing the football in his proximity.
Parsons is already on track to be regarded as one of the NFL’s top defensive players again in 2022, following up the dominant rookie season that saw him in the discussion for NFL Defensive Player of the Year until late in the season. His teammate, Diggs, is building his own reputation as well, and Parsons cannot wait to see how his teammate continues to develop and grow this fall.
“That’s what makes the player he is: his confidence, his willingness to go after the ball,” Parsons said. “I’ve seen a lot of corners not give up yards, but their teams aren’t winning games. This league is about how many times you can get the ball back, and you get the ball back with turnovers. I’d take that any day of the week.”
Diggs certainly showed an ability to get the football back last season with an NFL-leading 11 interceptions. It was the most interceptions in a season by a single player since 1981.
“Without a doubt I thought he was the best defensive player in the league last year,” Parsons said. “We’ve seen 20 sacks before. But in this era, we’ve never seen anyone reach 10-plus interceptions. So it’s disrespectful to me, because I think he deserves all the credit in the world and deserves to be named a top-five corner if not the best corner in the league.”
Parsons recently said he has his own personal goals for the upcoming season, including a minimum of 15 sacks as he pursues the NFL single-season record for sacks in a season.
For more of Parsons’ interview with USA TODAY, click HERE.
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