PFF: Micah Parsons ranked as 29th best player in NFL

Former Penn State standout Micah Parsons is heading into his second season as a Dallas Cowboys — and has quickly become the anchor of America’s defense. With just one full season under his belt, PFF ranked Parsons as the No. 29 player in the NFL heading into the 2022 season.

“Parsons drew comparisons to Lawrence Taylor during his rookie season, and they weren’t crazy — that’s how much of an impact he made during a season in which he was a real Defensive Player of the Year candidate,” PFF’s Sam Monson wrote. “Parsons ended the year with the best pass-rush win rate (25.3%) among pass rushers and was only doing that to fill in when injuries hit Dallas’ defensive line.

“Parsons has special ability, and if he can develop his play off the ball a little further, he will be one of the NFL’s best players.”

Not only did Parsons win the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, and was also in the conversation to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors as well. Parsons finished his rookie campaign ranked No. 6 on the league’s sack list (13) and tackles for loss (20).

These numbers are even more impressive when you take into the account that Parsons only rushed 53 percent of quarterback drop backs (260th in the NFL). Compare his numbers to T.J. Watt‘s rookie rushing percentage of 88.3 percent and only managed seven sacks.

Fast forward four seasons, and Watt tied the NFL sack record in a single season with 22.5 — a mark that Parsons has been incredibly vocal about breaking this season.

“Yeah, 15 [sacks] is like the minimum. 15 is what I wanna hit,” Parsons told Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports back in June of his goals for 2022. “But definitely 23 is that goal, to break the record.”

This season-long goal coincides with teammate and veteran edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence wanting to return to his throne as the NFL’s sack leader once again. Lawrence wrapped up his eighth year in the league last season with just three sacks after appearing in just seven games — a far cry from the combined 25 sacks he accumulate between 2017 and 2018. In the three seasons since, Lawrence has combined for just 14.5 sacks.

“It makes me want to compete,” Parsons said about Lawrence wanting to out-sack him next season. “… I want D-Law to step up. I want him to be who he is. I’m not taking that away from him, but sorry to tell him, he’s never getting that back. … If 10 [sacks] is the number, I’m going for 20. It’s gonna be a race to the quarterback.”