Cowboys defensive end Micah Parsons has already risen to become one of the best young defensive players in the league.
Now with less than two weeks before the Cowboys face the Buccaneers in their 2022 season opener, the star defensive end knows “exactly” who he wants to be entering his second NFL season. The reigning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year told reporters on Thursday that he was “trying to find himself” during his rookie season.
Now, in Parsons’s eyes, it is game time.
“I don’t want to be anything short of the No. 1 (player in the NFL),” Parsons told reporters. "That’s the type of confidence I have. I want to be the best. … I want to be feared. I have to dominate every game.”
On Monday, the NFL released its final segment of yearly rankings of the best players heading into the 2022 season, and Parsons was voted as the 16th-best player.
But while Parsons is among the league’s top 20 players to start the season, Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy wants his defensive end to take the leap from a great player to an “elite” player.
“Obviously Micah had a lot of great moments last year, but our desire—and it needs to be his desire—is for him to be an elite player, not just a great player,” McCarthy said. “The elite ones bring everybody with them. How they work, how they compete in practice, how they compete in the weight room, how they compete at garbage-can basketball in the locker room.
“He has an opportunity to really make a huge impact in our football team. … The great ones just find a way.”
Last season, Parsons recorded 84 tackles, 13 sacks and three forced fumbles. He recorded 12 of his 13 sacks in his first 13 games, which was the fourth-most by a NFL rookie behind Julius Peppers, Reggie White and Leslie O’Neal. Parsons also earned first team All-Pro recognition for his production.
