Cowboys Rookie Micah Parsons Gives ‘Chill’ Response to Comps to Giants’ Lawrence Taylor
FRISCO - Some New York fans are upset that Dallas Cowboys rookie star Micah Parsons is being compared to the legendary Lawrence Taylor.
But they should be aware: it’s not the often-hyperbolic Cowboys who are trumpeted the comp.
It’s the Giants, this Sunday’s Dallas foe, who are going doing it.
"I've never really seen anything like him. He’s really LT-like, to be honest," Giants running back Saquon Barkley said. "It is what it is: He’s insane.”
Parsons is, at 22, supremely confident in his abilities. He has no problem saying, “The NFL isn’t that hard,” but even that remark needs context, because what he means is that after practicing against his own Dallas offense daily, the rest of the offenses are a notch down.
But he is clearly flattered by the LT comparisons.
"I would definitely say it's way too early," Parsons said. "It's an honor."
The 2021 first-round pick has dominated early in his NFL career, totaling 12 sacks along with 75 tackles in 13 games. He has at least one sack in each of the last six games, his QB pressures are also among football’s best, and so are his abilities as a linebacker against the run and in coverage.
“The drive I have inside me, just wanting to be great, wanting to do more, wanting more on my plate, it comes from me wanting to (play in the NFL). I feel like I’m destined to do this. That’s why I put so much time in. I just want to be a winner.
“I want to be something.”
Oh, he is something, alright.
Said Barkley, like Parsons a Penn State product: “I am not just saying this because we’re friends. The sky is really the limit with him. If he keeps working hard and keeping his head on straight, he can be even better than he is now.
“That’s the scary thing."
Here’s how fast the improvement has already come for the defensive centerpiece of the 9-4 Cowboys: Not only has Parsons become a favorite for Defensive Rookie of the Year, but he also is suddenly a real contender for the league's Defensive Player of the Year award.
Taylor won both honors in 1981 when he tallied 9.5 sacks for the New York Giants. He went on to win the Defensive Player of the Year award two more times, was named the league MVP in 1986 and was picked for 10 Pro Bowl on the way to the Hall of Fame.
So, said Parsons, “I still have a long way to go. He had a 142 (sacks). I have 130 more sacks to go before we can start saying that was LT. So let's just chill and keep enjoying the work I got to keep putting in to get there."
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