'New' Micah Parsons? How Cowboys NFL Draft Picks Might Mean Moves

In his first two career seasons, Dallas Cowboys edge Micah Parsons has became one of the league's most dominant defensive forces.

There aren't a lot of better ways to start a career than Dallas Cowboys "Lion-backer'' Micah Parsons. 

Two-time All Pro? Check. 

Unanimous Defensive Rookie of the Year? Check. 

Most games with 2+ sacks through the first 12 weeks of a season? Checked that box last season. 

But could the 2021 No. 12 pick elevate even higher with Dallas spending an early-round selection on a linebacker or a defensive lineman?

Let's look at the chess-piece aspect of this.

A recent Bleacher Report article states the Cowboys focusing on defense on Day 1 and 2 could help Parsons transition to where he excels the most - getting into the backfield. 

"First, it could aid in transitioning the 23-year-old to a full-time edge defender," Bleacher Report wrote.

After playing primarily outside linebacker through the first half of his rookie campaign, Dallas transitioned Parsons to an edge defender where he picked up 10.5 of his 13 sacks on the year. 

This came despite Parsons playing just 390 of his 930 total snaps on the line of scrimmage, per PFF. 

And despite transitioning to nearly a full-time edge in his sophomore season, Parsons ranked third on the Cowboys in defensive snaps (919 and 80.12 percent), trailing only cornerback Trevon Diggs and safety Donovan Wilson. 

The theory here is that the Cowboys could draft a defensive tackle that helps Micah by occupying blockers, or a linebacker who makes the coaches comfortable in not using Micah there.

Here's the only problem with the theory: The ideal set-up for Micah Parsons isn't a roster addition that "locks him in'' to being exclusively a pass-rusher. Under the creative work of coordinator Dan Quinn, the ideal is roster construction that "frees him from'' being any one thing.

Micah should be a linebacker. Should be in coverage. Should be off-ball. Should be an EDGE. Should be a blitzer. Not less of it - more of it.

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You can find Riley Sheppard on Twitter @RileyDSheppard

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