Tag: Micah Parsons

Cowboys announce rookie jersey numbers, Parsons gets Penn State 11

The Cowboys announced jersey numbers for their rookies. Micah Parsons get his old college number 11, and others gets those of past stars.

The NFL recently adjusted its rules when it comes to jersey numbers, loosening restrictions about who can wear what. Running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, and linebackers can all wear single-digit numbers, starting in 2021. For veterans, switching jersey numbers comes with a weird expense. The players have to buy out their old numbers, at retail price, or wait until 2022.

The draft is less than a week old, but newcomers to the league have no such restrictions. The newest rookies of the Dallas Cowboys know what numbers they’ll be wearing under the bright lights of AT&T Stadium now, and their first-round selection Micah Parsons has taken advantage of the opportunity to keep his Penn State jersey number alive, No. 11.

While Cedrick Wilson is the most recent wearer of the number, the most famous recent wearer is ex-Cowboys receiver Cole Beasley. Parsons took to Twitter once it was announced, and seemed extremely pleased as he posted a picture of himself rocking his old number standing over the home of the Cowboys.

The former Nittany Lion will be an important piece of the Cowboys defense right off the bat playing alongside Jaylon Smith and Keanu Neal, and the expectation, as it is with all first-rounders, is for him to continue the dominant play from his college days.

Several other rookies will have big shoes to fill with their new numbers as well. Second-round pick Kelvin Joseph will sport the No. 24, recently vacated by Chidobe Awuzie and once worn by Everson Walls. He made four Pro Bowls, was a three-time first-team All-Pro, and lead the NFL in interceptions three times during his nine-year career (1981-1989) in Dallas. Also, Marion Barber rocked it for six years (2005-2010) and scored 47 rushing touchdowns as one of the league’s toughest runners.

Third-round pick Nahshon Wright will wear No. 40 which was made famous in Dallas by special teams wizard Bill Bates for 15 seasons (1983-1997). Bates was named to the Pro Bowl in 1984, becoming the first special teams player to receive such an honor. He was also named an All-Pro that season and was a member of the Cowboys dynasty in the 1990s that won three Super Bowls.

Speedster Simi Fehoko was taken in the fifth round to add depth to the Cowboys receiver group, and his No. 81 comes with high expectations. Hall of Famer Terrell Owens played for the Cowboys for three seasons (2006-2008) and registered 1,000 yards every year, made a Pro Bowl, an All-Pro team, and scored 38 touchdowns over that span.

Fehoko leaked the news Monday when he posted a picture of himself wearing the old number of Owens, and the caption was his infamous phrase “Get your popcorn ready”.

Here’s a full list of all of the new assignments.

11: LB Micah Parsons
24: CB Kelvin Joseph
75: DT Osa Odighizuwa
59: DE Chauncey Golston
40: CB Nahshon Wright
48: LB Jabril Cox
76: OT Josh Ball
81: WR Simi Fehoko
98: NT Quinton Bohanna
38: S Israel Mukuamu
68: C/G Matt Farniok

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Draft Wire’s way-too-early 2022 NFL mock draft has Rasheed Walker reunited with this former Nittany Lion first rounder

Could the Dallas Cowboys draft a Penn State player in the first round again in 2022?

With the book closed on the 2021 NFL draft, the focus is already shifting to the 2022 NFL draft. Penn State offensive tackle Rasheed Walker is highly regarded in many of the early looks to next year’s draft pool, with many already floating the idea that Walker could very well be a first-round pick of some NFL team.

With that in mind, Draft Wire has put together a way-too-early mock draft for the 2022 NFL draft, and Walker does indeed land in the first round. On top of that, Walker is projected to be reunited with another former first-round pick out of Happy Valley.

According to Draft Wire’s first look at next year’s draft, Wallace could be picked up by the Dallas Cowboys with the No. 22 overall draft pick. The Cowboys spent their first-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft on Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons.

Drafting an offensive lineman in the first round would make sense for the Cowboys, as it was believed to be an area the franchise should address more in the 2021 NFL draft. Instead, the Cowboys focused their energy on bulking up on defense, especially at the linebacker position. Perhaps next year will see Dallas attempt to make moves to restabilize their offensive line. If that is the case, then the selection of Walker would make plenty of sense.

Without doing much research, it would seem like a bit of an oddity for any NFL team to use a first-round pick on a player from the same school two years in a row, but that would certainly be a fun little development to watch unfold.

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion,

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Report: Cowboys expected to decline option on Vander Esch; Quinn anticipates ‘competition’ for LBs

New additions and a history of injuries may turn 2021 into a contract year for Vander Esch; his DC wants ‘competition’ among his LBs.

Two days after the 2021 NFL draft wrapped up with the selection of Mr. Irrelevant, the Dallas Cowboys find themselves, once again, on the clock.

Or at least as far as Leighton Vander Esch is concerned.

The team has until 3 p.m. (Dallas time) to exercise the fifth-year option of the linebacker’s rookie deal. If they do, the 25-year-old Boise State product is guaranteed to make $9.145 million with the club in 2022. If they don’t, Vander Esch becomes an unrestricted free agent next March.

According to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News, Cowboys fans should expect the team to stand pat, letting the Wolf Hunter play out 2021 as a contract year.

“We’ve been so focused on the draft,” chief operating officer Stephen Jones told reporters on Saturday, “We’ll obviously get our hands around that in short order.”

Short order is here. But the writing may have already been on the wall, given some of the club’s recent choices.

With their first-round draft pick on Thursday night, Dallas opted to claim Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons. Perhaps the selection wasn’t a huge surprise, especially since the two top cornerbacks had just come off the board. Given the team’s dreadful defense in 2020 and last week’s retirement of two-time Pro Bowler Sean Lee, taking the player many deemed the best defensive player in the draft neatly filled a newly-created hole in the roster.

But then the Cowboys also drafted LSU’s Jabril Cox early in the fourth round on Saturday. And suddenly, there are more linebackers in the locker room than there would seem to be long-term room for.

Parsons and Cox were among the players Cowboys Wire suggested “could have an impact” on the front office’s Vander Esch decision… and now the team has both of them.

And all of that’s not even counting Keanu Neal. The former Falcon went to the 2017 Pro Bowl as a safety, but now that he’s been reunited with his former coach Dan Quinn, plans are for him to move to linebacker, further muddying the mix for Vander Esch.

“He will be a linebacker,” Quinn told the media Friday in his first press conference as Cowboys defensive coordinator.

“A player I’ve known for a long time,” Quinn said of Neal. “Adding somebody of his speed and his physicality onto our defense, that’s something that we need.”

Vander Esch himself brought a good deal of speed and physicality to the field starting in his first season. An opening-round choice in 2018, the former college walk-on enjoyed a transcendent rookie campaign that resulted in a Pro Bowl nod, second-team All-Pro honors, and an immediate place in the hearts and minds of Cowboys fans as “The Wolf Hunter.”

But injuries have seriously hampered Vander Esch’s career since, causing him to miss 13 games over the past two seasons. Not long ago, he and fellow linebacker Jaylon Smith made up the top-ranked linebacker tandem in the league. By the end of 2020, though, both were seen by many as liabilities: Smith for his erratic and often lackadaisical play, and Vander Esch for his inability to stay on the field.

Vander Esch and Smith will nonetheless play a major role in Quinn’s defense in 2021.

“Both these guys are really getting after it and putting in work to have a fantastic year,” Quinn said.

But he acknowledges that the addition of Neal, Parsons, and Cox to the group signals that nothing is guaranteed.

“Let’s get out and work together,” Quinn offered as an offseason philosophy. “There’ll be some competition where we’re going. But one thing I do know: both these guys are really good players. And as opposed to, ‘Where are they going to go?’ it’s like, ‘How awesome is that that we’ve got more speed, more length, more run-and-hit players?’ As a coach, I couldn’t be more pumped for that.”

For now, anyway, Quinn relishes the notion of having lots of mix-and-match parts to his Cowboys linebacker machine.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing the different packages and how we’ll feature the guys. It’ll take us a while to figure it all out.”

But Leighton Vander Esch may not have much of a while to figure out how to extend his tenure with the Cowboys. After having to prove himself as a rookie just three years ago, it appears he’ll have to do it all over again in 2020.

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Cowboys’ Parsons has best defensive ROY odds, two teammates in top 25

Micah Parsons is leading the way in rookie of the year conversations.

The media draft community is widely panning the Dallas Cowboys for their overall haul in the 2021 NFL draft. The Athletic’s Arif Hassan compiled a Consensus Big Board that grouped together the thoughts of 70 different draft pundits and ranked the Cowboys’ draft 28th of 32 teams in respect to the amount of draft capital they entered the weekend with. A twitter  user compiled draft grades from 18 different outlets and Dallas ranked 27th.

Want to know who is impressed with what Dallas did? The sportsbooks. Bet MGM released their odds for offensive and defensive rookies of the year and look who is at the top of the list? Cowboys first-round pick, 12th overall and the third defender selected Micah Parsons shows up with +500 odds, well ahead of Cleveland linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah (+800).

Their fascination with the Cowboys doesn’t end there, however. Two more Cowboys are on the list.

LSU linebacker Jabril Cox shows up slightly lower on the list with +3500 odds. That ties him with five other players for 16th-best odds. Not bad at all for the 115th overall selection. He actually has better odds than the Cowboys’ second-round pick, Kentucky CB Kelvin Joseph. Taken No. 44 overall, Joseph has +5000 odds, tying him with four other players for 23rd-best odds.

In fact, that’s not the last Cowboys player on the list.

Defensive lineman from UCLA Osa Odighizuwa checks in with the final group to get odds of +10000. There are 30 of those guys, but to paraphrase Lloyd Christmas, we’re telling you there’s a chance.

Check out the full table of odds here.

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ESPN’s Mel Kiper grades Cowboys draft below 9 other teams

Mel Kiper or ESPN gave out his yearly draft grades, find out his opinion on the Cowboys 11-man haul.

Despite the months of anticipation and preparation leading up to the three-day NFL draft, the event comes and goes in the blink of an eye. The ramifications of the results however live on for years to come.

It is extremely difficult to fully grade a draft pick in the days, or even months after, as the prospects are yet to play a snap of NFL football. That fact doesn’t deter the industry’s top experts, like ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr, from handing out his annual draft grades for each franchise.

The Dallas Cowboys and their 11-man 2021 draft class (the Cowboys’ most picks made since 2009) received a “B” grade from Kiper, while nine clubs graded out higher from the longtime draft analyst. Nine other teams shared a similar mark.

“The Dallas defense was awful last season, even before Dak Prescott was lost for the year in Week 5. This couldn’t be another CeeDee Lamb situation, where they went with an offensive playmaker even with massive holes on the other side of the ball. They had to get the best defender on the board, ideally a cornerback. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, though, the top two corners went in the two picks before them at No. 10, so give them credit for trading back two spots, adding an extra third-rounder and still getting the guy they say they wanted all along.”

Many analysts thought highly of the Day 2 talent in this draft class, so the Cowboys moving from No. 10 to No. 12 to pick up an extra third round selection, while still getting the top ranked defender available, was a win in most draft expert’s eyes.

“The questions now are… where does Micah Parsons (12) fit, and what does it mean for 2018 first-round pick Leighton Vander Esch and 2016 second-rounder Jaylon Smith? I didn’t peg off-ball linebacker as a need for Dallas, but the organization didn’t draft Parsons to sit on the bench. So maybe it will move on from Vander Esch and plant Parsons at middle linebacker. He’ll improve a porous run defense; the Cowboys allowed a woeful 1,758 rushing yards before first contact last season, by far the most in the league. With Rashawn Slater still available, I thought he would have filled a need at guard. They added to the off-ball linebacker group on Day 3 with Jabril Cox (115), who has some coverage traits.”

An argument can be made against selecting an off-ball linebacker this high in a draft, but Parsons ceiling is tremendous and Kiper is right to think Parsons should immediately help with Dallas’ well-known problems with stopping the run.

Some, like Kiper, may not have thought linebacker was a pressing need in Dallas. However, when one considers Leighton Vander Esch’s injury history (plus the fact that he’s entering a contract year) combined with Jaylon Smith’s inconsistency, and it’s easy to see why the Cowboys were eager to add the former Penn State standout.

“The Cowboys continued their attempt to improve the defense on Day 2 and ended up using all five of their picks on defenders. Cornerback Kelvin Joseph (44) has lock-down traits, and the team will hope that he can make the same sort of impact that second-rounder Trevon Diggs did a year ago. Defensive linemen Osa Odighizuwa (75) and Chauncey Golston (84) were lower on my board, but they’ll help against the run.”

Following the first round trade back the Cowboys had four Day 2 selections that all went to defense. The club finally filled their biggest need with the selection of Kentucky’s Kelvin Joseph, a cornerback with first-round talent who slid due to character concerns.

“I had a late Day 3 grade on Nahshon Wright (99), but he’s a big 6-foot-3 corner who fits the mold of what new coordinator Dan Quinn likes outside. He’s quite confident in his skills, but I didn’t see an NFL starter on tape. Israel Mukuamu (227) is another tall corner, as Dallas showed its commitment to finding guys for Quinn. Simi Fehoko (179) has some speed for a 6-foot-4 wideout, though this team’s receiver room is crowded.”

The Cowboys finished off their draft in Day 3 with a number of high-upside picks. Dallas clearly wanted to add length on both sides of the ball and the club accomplished that goal.

“In total, the Cowboys added eight defenders in this class, though they reached for a couple of them. If Quinn’s corner picks work out, they could have a couple of steals.”

Other NFC East draft grades for those interested:

New York Giants: B+

Philadelphia Eagles: B+

Washington Football Team: B

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Watch: Film analysis of Cowboys LB Micah Parsons by Voch Lombardi

A deeper dive into the film of Micah Parsons reveals a player with enormous ceiling, but also a handful of concerns.

Every player has strengths and weaknesses and the job of the coaching staff is to make the strengths stronger and make the weaknesses less of a liability. While every observer can clearly see the athletic intangibles that first-round pick Micah Parsons will bring to the Dallas Cowboys linebacker position, the reason some have a concern with his being worth where he was picked is his lack of play diagnosis.

Draft analyst Voch Lombardi broke down Parsons film at the end of December and found several reasons to be excited about what his plusses are, but also insight into what his limitations are based on his film from 2019.

Throw in the fact that neither Mike McCarthy nor defensive coordinator Dan Quinn met with Parsons on the Zoom protocol pre-draft meeting, and Lombardi’s concerns about whether or not Parsons’ ability to diagnose plays improved after opting out in 2020 ring even more vital.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3fYfDq5MoQ

In no uncertain terms Cowboys’ Quinn has served Jaylon, Vander Esch notice

Expect competition for snaps and starter roles to grow from low to extreme as the season goes on. The incumbent Cowboys linebackers should feel anything but safe following the first 4 rounds of the 2021 draft.

Ever watch one of those movies where the lead character looks up to the heavens with teary eyes and blurts out a heart-wrenching plea for help with a “God, just give me a sign!” request? This ain’t that.

The Dallas Cowboys have served notice that the current group of linebackers is not safe. They shouldn’t be, of course, because for various reasons the combination of Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch have underperformed over the last two seasons. In their final year under Rod Marinelli and their sole year under the quote-unquote stewardship of Mike Nolan, there has not been elite level play from the group. New defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is not going for it and in a draft that has seen six-for-six defenders picked, he’s now used high draft capital to present the incumbents with the ultimate amount of competition. The selections of Penn State’s Micah Parsons and LSU’s Jabril Cox say everything to Smith and Vander Esch without saying a word.

It’s on in Oxnard, fam.

Make no mistake about it. With full disclosure I’ll let it be known I was against picking Parsons that early in the draft. I named him by name in my listing of the only way Dallas could screw up their top-10 selection (though they got him at No. 12 after a trade back).

I don’t like spending big on linebackers.

My disdain for investing important capital (financial or draft) in linebacker doesn’t mean that Parsons isn’t a tremendous prospect. Because of my disdain for picking linebackers early and the other options at more important positions which were expected to be there and were (OL Rashawn Slater), I didn’t want him there, but he certainly has the ability to be a Pro Bowl player based on traits.

Cox however is exactly the type of LB prospect, and exactly the placement in the draft that makes my football heart flutter. The importance of Cox being selected in the same class as Parsons is amped up to 100 under the light of it being Quinn’s first draft.

Not only is Quinn entering that first practice with “his guys” as opposed to players who came from a previous regime, those guys were already on uncertain terms as far as their future.

Vander Esch is in the final year of his rookie deal. Dallas has a decision to make, by Tuesday, on whether or not they are going to exercise his fifth-year option for over $9 million in 2022. While nothing is guaranteed, these two picks seem to be a definitive statement that extension is not coming for the oft-injured player who was named a Pro Bowl alternative as a rookie.

After starting 11 of the 16 games he played as a rookie and totaling 140 tackles, two interceptions and 7 pass deflections, his production and snaps have fallen off. In 19 games over the next two years he has just 132 tackles, no interceptions and just three pass deflections.

Neck surgery in 2019 was followed by a broken collarbone in 2020. Pre-draft injury concerns have carried over to the pro game and the Cowboys should not continue to follow the path of recently-retired Sean Lee in hoping and praying that the next injury doesn’t occur right around the corner.

As for Smith, he’s simply been unable to replicate his 2018 campaign. While his injury concerns seem behind him after his horrific Bowl game injury that basically robbed him of his first two NFL seasons (he played in 2017, but not well at all), the biggest issue is Dallas decided to pay him an extension after just one good season and he hasn’t reached that height since.

Granted, Vander Esch’s injury changed the course of Smith’s season, as he was supposed to be moved to weakside linebacker and had to return to the middle, he’s on notice due to that hefty hit on the salary cap.

A player can’t have the indecision and misdiagnosis he routinely has, as well as effort questions and get paid as much as he does. Smith has the volume stats and he makes impact plays but he is the quintessential example of the stats not matching the overall worthiness of his play.

Both Smith and Vander Esch will be on the field for the Cowboys in 2021. However with Parsons and now Cox nipping at their heels, they are not guaranteed to have as heavy a workload and neither is promised to be in the starting lineup down the stretch of next season.

The youngsters will get the chance to earn their snaps under the new guy in charge and their play could easily lead to one or both of the veterans looking for employment elsewhere in 2022.

That’s a big step for a team where ownership favorites such as Smith may have been able to survive without concern in the past.

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Pro Football Focus wasn’t exactly sold on Micah Parsons to the Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys may be thrilled to have Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons, but one scouting outlet thinks they could have done better.

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The Dallas Cowboys drafted Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons with the No. 12 overall pick in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft on Thursday night. Parsons’ dream of playing for the Cowboys and beginning his professional football career playing home games in the same stadium he wrapped up his college career with the Nittany Lions has proven to be something that has excited both Penn State and Cowboys fans alike.

But the reception to the Cowboys moving down in the draft to select the top-rated linebacker hasn’t been without its share of mild criticism. Pro Football Focus graded the Cowboys’ draft pick of Parsons as “average” in its instant analysis of the pick. The main reason for the average rating stems more from the Cowboys arguably having a bigger need to improve their status at other positions other than linebacker.

“The Cowboys seemed destined to take a cornerback at No. 10 overall, but the Panthers starting a mini-run at the position allowed Dallas to trade back and reassess,” Pro Football Focus noted. “Linebacker isn’t an obvious need, with Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander-Esch already there, but Parsons is the best linebacker prospect we have seen in years and could provide some versatility to the Cowboys’ defense.”

It is also fitting that the Cowboys draft perhaps the best Penn State linebacker to come out of Penn State since LaVar Arrington, who went No. 2 overall in the 2000 NFL draft, to fill a spot on the roster previously held by 11-year veteran Sean Lee. Lee, a former Nittany Lion linebacker as well, announced his retirement at the beginning of the week. Replacing one Penn State legendary linebacker with another isn’t necessarily a bad strategy to roll out.

The Cowboys did eventually address the cornerback position with Kentucky’s Kelvin Joseph. But perhaps it was too little too late according to Pro Football Focus. That draft pick was also graded as “average.”

Stay up to date on all of the NFL draft action regarding Penn State football players with our updated draft tracker. We will also be keeping tabs on undrafted free agency after the draft wraps up.

2021 NFL draft tracker: Tracking every Penn State player in the draft

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.

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Micah Parsons, Mike McCarthy and the mysterious Zoom interview

Tidbits from the Dallas Cowboys introductory press conference for linebacker Micah Parsons.

If a Zoom meeting happens but no one’s on it, did it ever really happen at all? That’s the million dollar question being thrown around after the press conference with the Dallas Cowboys latest first-round draft pick, linebacker Micah Parsons from Penn State.

It’s fair to assume someone was on the call, but who? By head coach Mike McCarthy’s own admission, he sure wasn’t. And according to Parsons, neither was defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. Nor was owner Jerry Jones. For a team with just nine landmines to skirt around before getting their turn, they do come across unprepared.

If the goal of the draft is to trust your scouts, then the Dallas brass passes with flying colors, but it certainly has the feel the Cowboys were caught with their pants down. Their two main targets disappeared with consecutive selections before ultimately deciding to trade back and pick up the Penn State product Parsons. But for the majority of the team’s brain trust to not even get to know the player a little bit is certainly curious.

Since then, the team’s PR machine has been in full effect, calling him the highest graded defensive player on their board and going through the motions all those who are in denial often do.

Other nuggets from the press conference include:

  • Parsons desire to take wide receiver Cedrick Wilson’s jersey number, and getting the owner’s blessing:

  • The linebacker’s affinity for chess:

  • And last, but not least, quarterback Dak Prescott being the first to reach out to his newest teammate:

 

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Every Big Ten player drafted in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft

Although Wisconsin football went for its fourth consecutive season without a Badger being drafted in the first round, several notable players from around the Big Ten were selected in the first round of the NFL draft, including Michigan defensive end …

Although Wisconsin football went for its fourth consecutive season without a Badger being drafted in the first round, several notable players from around the Big Ten were selected in the first round of the NFL draft, including Michigan defensive end Kwity Paye and Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields.

The first prospect to come off the board for Wisconsin will likely be cornerback Rachad Wildgoose, who was predicted to go in the third round by PFF’s mock draft.

Players from Ohio State, Michigan, Northwestern, Penn State and Minnesota were drafted in the first round of the NFL draft.

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