SI

Micah Parsons Takes Harsh View of T.J. Watt as Top NFL Pass Rusher

The Cowboys star doesn't believe Watt is one of the NFL's best pass rushers.

Tim Capurso

Micah Parsons Takes Harsh View of T.J. Watt as Top NFL Pass Rusher
Micah Parsons Takes Harsh View of T.J. Watt as Top NFL Pass Rusher /
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Micah Parsons has left no doubt as to who he feels deserved the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year award, as he took to his account on X, formerly Twitter, and defended 2023 winner Myles Garrett from NFL fans who felt that Pittsburgh Steelers star T.J. Watt was more deserving. 

Well, Parsons has taken his defense of Garrett—and harsh view on Watt—even a step further. 

Parsons, during an appearance on CBS Sports Radio‘s The Zach Gelb Show, said that Garrett's "presence is way more dominant than T.J. Watt's."

Parsons then ranked his top five pass rushers in the league and Watt was not among them.

Parsons, citing the ESPN statistic pass rush win rate, ranked himself first, followed by Garrett, Maxx Crosby and then Nick Bosa. When pressed as to why Watt was not among the five best in the league, Parsons again pointed to win rate and double team rate, stating that Watt's own Steelers teammate Alex Highsmith had better marks in those categories. (Watt had the better win rate mark but not double team.)

The Dallas Cowboys star insisted that he has "no beef" with Watt, who edged him out for the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year award. 

It will be interesting to see if Watt has any sort of response to Parsons. 

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Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.

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