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Micah Parsons doesn't believe TJ Watt is a top 5 pass rusher in NFL

ProfilePhotoby: Nick Geddes02/10/24NickGeddesNews
Micah Parsons
Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports

When you think of the top pass rushers in the NFL, TJ Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers always garners a mention. That is, until now, as Dallas Cowboys Micah Parsons went on record to say he doesn’t believe Watt is one of the top-five pass rushers in the league.

Parsons, speaking with Zach Gelb of CBS Sports Radio on Super Bowl Radio Row in Las Vegas Friday, cited the stats, particularly pass rush win rate, in making his argument.

“If you’re talking about best pure pass rusher, I would say if you look at my win rate, I was the best one this year, so it would be me [No. 1],” Parsons said. “Then, I would say Myles [Garrett]. [And] then, I would say Maxx [Crosby]. Then, I would say Nick Bosa. I mean, look at the stats. The stats don’t lie. … I think [Watt] might have been fifth or sixth [in pass rush win rate and double team rate]. Alex Highsmith, I think had a better pass rush rate and a more double team rate than TJ Watt if you want to be statistical. This isn’t my stuff. I’m not just pulling this out of my hat. Like, look at the stats.”

Micah Parsons has ‘no beef’ with TJ Watt

Watt, 29, led the NFL with 19.0 sacks this season, his third season sitting atop the sacks leaderboard. His 96.5-career sacks are eighth among active players and more than any of the names Parsons listed ahead of him. Watt finished second in AP Defensive Player of the Year Award voting, just behind Garrett, the Cleveland Browns star pass rusher, and one spot ahead of Parsons.

Parsons added he has no beef with Watt and felt that if he didn’t win Defensive Player of the Year, it should have gone to Garrett.

“There’s no beef at all,” Parsons said. “One thing I hate about the NFL community and NBA community, we just hate when someone else wins. When I lost to TJ, I did not go in and say, ‘I got snubbed.’ I just said, ‘I’m going to go to work.’ When I lost to Nick Bosa the year after that, I did not say, ‘I got snubbed.’ I just said, ‘I’m going to work.’ The biggest mistake in people is saying that someone is not deserving. Who are you to say someone is not deserving of an award of that magnitude?”