Jayron Kearse expects a Defensive Player of the Year season from Micah Parsons

There isn’t much Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons hasn’t accomplished during his first two seasons in the NFL.

26.5 sacks in 33 games. Defensive Rookie of the Year. Two first-team All-Pro selections. Parsons has indeed done a lot in a short span of time, but one thing is missing: an AP Defensive Player of the Year Award.

Parsons was the runner-up to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ T.J. Watt in 2021, and again in ’22 to the San Francisco 49ers’ Nick Bosa. Cowboys safety Jayron Kearse believes 2023 is the year Parsons finally gets it done.

“I expect a Defensive Player of the Year type of year from him. Hands down,” Kearse said Wednesday, via Jon Machota of The Athletic. “If I was a betting guy, my money is on him. I’ve just seen the way he’s come in this year, different than the previous two. He has the ability to wreck a game at any given moment when he wants to. The type of impact I’m expecting him to have is not only for the defense, but for the team is tremendous. … Just his mentality in how he’s attacking things this year, it’s much different than I’ve seen in his previous years.

“He comes in like, ‘I’m the lion.’ He lives like that throughout the day, throughout the week, just like, ‘I’m the baddest guy out here.’ He has shown that. That’s the biggest difference I’ve seen from him.”

Micah Parsons chasing Cowboys all-time great

Kearse’s instincts would be correct. Parsons is, in fact, the betting favorite to win DPOTY this season at +650, per VegasInsider. Not only is Parsons confident he can win the award, but he has sights set on exceeding another Cowboys great in DeMarcus Ware.

Ware, the Cowboys’ 11th overall selection in the 2005 NFL Draft out of Troy, spent nine seasons in Dallas, becoming the franchise’s all-time leader in sacks with 117.0. He recorded a career-high 20.0 sacks in 2008 and another 19.5-sack season in 2011.

Parsons recently said he wants to exceed the production of Ware in a Cowboys uniform.

“Man, I’m coming for you, D-Ware,” Parsons said, via Sports Illustrated. “When you talk about legendary seasons and what they accomplish, you’re right there at the top. I want to be on your level and exceed you one day.”