Cowboys OLB Micah Parsons Makes Stunning Claim About Giants

Parsons revealed that during the 2021 draft, he was under the impression that he was going to be a Giant.

Jan 5, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons (11) celebrates after a sack during the first quarter against the Washington Commanders at AT&T Stadium. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

If it ever looks like Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker Micah Parsons seems a little extra juiced up every time he lines up against the New York Giants, that’s because he is.

Parsons, whom the Cowboys selected 11th in the 2021 draft out of Penn State, told Bryant McFadden of CBS Sports that the Giants “lied” to him about their draft intentions that year.

"[The Giants] lied to me... people don't know this... they told me, if I fell to 11 that they was gonna pick me."

- Micah Parsons reveals why he PUNISHES the Giants with @BMac_SportsTalk pic.twitter.com/dgIXV7tQWy

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) February 6, 2025

“Yeah, people don't know this,” Parsons said during the interview on Radio Row at the Super Bowl. “They told me if I fell to 11, they (were) going to pick me.

“That’s why I punish the Giants every time,” he added. 

Instead of going to the Giants, what transpired in that draft saw a rare interdivisional trade between the Cowboys and Eagles in which the Eagles received the tenth overall pick in the draft to use on receiver DeVonta Smith, believed to have been a Giants target that year.

Dallas received pick 12, which they used to select Parsons, and the Eagles’ third-round pick (No. 84), which they used on defensive end Chauncey Golston.

The Giants, meanwhile, traded out of spot No. 11 with the Chicago Bears, who selected quarterback Justin Fields out of Ohio State. 

Wide receiver Kadarius Toney was the Giants' first-round pick in 2021 after the team traded down to No. 20. Toney became one of the biggest first-round draft busts for the franchise since offensive lineman Ereck Flowers. | Jessica Alcheh-Imagn Images

Giants general manager Dave Gettleman, who had moved down to No. 20 in the first round, the spot previously held by the Bears, selected receiver Kadarius Toney out of Florida, a pick that turned out to be a colossal bust after just over one season. 

Gettleman and the Giants also received an extra fifth-round pick (No. 164, which they traded to Denver) in that draft, plus the Bears’ first- and fourth-round picks in 2022. the first-round pick that year turned into Alabama offensive tackle Evan Neal.

With the Giants having allegedly gone back on their word to Parsons, as he claimed to be the case, the linebacker has made it personal every time he faces the Giants.

“They lied to me,” Parsons claimed of the Giants. 

As far as making the Giants pay every time he sees them, Dallas is 8-0 in games in which the linebacker has appeared. Parsons also has 4.5 sacks, 21 tackles, and six tackles for loss in those eight games, as well as 13 quarterback hits and one pass breakup.

His sack total against the Giants is less than he has against the Eagles (5.0 in seven games) and Washington (10.5 in eight games). In addition, none of Parson’s three NFC Defensive Player of the Week awards have come against the Giants.

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