Twenty Plenty: Can Cowboys Micah Parsons Get 20 Sacks?
The Dallas Cowboys didn't really know what they had with the No. 12 overall pick last season until it smacked them - and opposing quarterbacks - right in the face.
Coming out of Penn State, linebacker Micah Parsons took the league by storm early last season with his incredible speed and ferociousness on the defensive line while displaying a sound ability to also drop into coverage.
So just imagine the kind of things he's capable of doing starting this fall.
Parsons was sixth in the league in sacks (13) and third in tackles-for-loss (20). A game-changer at every spot in the defensive front, Parsons is no doubt one of Dallas' most important players as he entering the 2022 NFL season. His confidence proves it.
"(Demarcus Lawrence) can be a 10-sack guy," Parsons said of his Pro-Bowl teammate. "Great. But if 10's the number, I'm going for 20."
With his 13 sacks and the fourth-most pressures in the league last season (47), a few more plays or half-second delays by quarterbacks in the pocket could've gone Parsons' way to add to the sack total. He also didn't play in Dallas' Week 18 game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
But after a rookie season that was flooded with accolades like Defensive Rookie of the Year, an All-Pro selection, a Pro-Bowl appearance, and coming in second for Defensive Player of the Year, offensive lines will have their eyes peeled. And to make reaching that sack total more difficult? He'll likely be used more in coverage this season, an area he showed promising flashes in with three passes defended on 36 targets.
"Linebacker, pass-rusher, wherever, the plan hasn't changed,'' Parsons said during OTAs. "We'll get to all of it.''
With every play Parsons drops back into coverage or gets double-teamed, Lawrence has one leg up at another sack from his defensive-end spot.
Can Parsons improve on 13, to 18 or even 20? To put that in perspective, the Atlanta Falcons only had 18 sacks all of last season. Steelers' Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt, however, had 22.5 by himself. The Cowboys' single-season record? DeMarcus Ware's 20 in 2008.
These numbers would certainly put Parsons into conversation for Defensive Player of the Year for a second straight season. He might not see it as a success given his personal goals, but potentially putting up those totals along with occasional pass-coverage duties would solidify him as one of the best players in the league.
He'll get his first chance at proving this is the case when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers march into Dallas in Week 1.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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