Cowboys Projected $145 Million 'Tone Setter' Snubbed in ESPN Rankings

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Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons.

In the history of the NFL, only career sacks leader Reggie White has gotten off to a better start to his career than Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons.

That very large, very important piece of history is worth pointing out after NFL executives played Parsons behind Cleveland’s Myles Garrett and Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt at No. 3 on ESPN’s list of the Top 10 edge rushers in the NFL for a second consecutive season.

“The numbers say Parsons has a compelling case for No. 1,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote on July 9. “His 126 pressures and 31 percent pass-rush win rate since 2023 lead the NFL. He has done this despite facing a 31.5 percent double-team rate in 2024, highest among edge rushers on this list. He generated a league-high 19.1 percent pressure rate last season and led the Cowboys with a 24.2 percent pressure share, the eighth-highest clip in the NFL. His pass rush win rate of 25.3 percent ranked second overall. And, oh yeah, Parsons is the second player in NFL history to produce 12 or more sacks in each of his first four pro seasons (White is the other).”

Parsons has been the biggest ongoing storyline this offseason as he waits to receive a contract extension that could make him the highest paid defensive player in NFL history — an honor Garrett currently holds after he signed a 4-year, $160 million contract extension on March 9.

Parsons Frontrunner For NFL Defensive POY

Parsons, 6-foot-3 and 245 pounds, is somewhat different from Garrett and Watt because it’s not out of the realm of possibility he could play every position on defense —don’t forget he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.39 seconds at the NFL scouting combine in 2021.

Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski thinks Parsons is one of just a handful of NFL players who could unseat Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

“Micah Parsons is already among the league’s best defenders,” Sobleski wrote on July 2. “He hasn’t won his first Defensive Player of the Year Award, though he’s been deserving … In truth, the 2021 12th overall draft pick has been exceptional from the moment he became a professional. Through four seasons, Parsons has amassed 52.5 sacks, with no fewer than 12 during any single campaign. He also has 63 tackles for loss and 112 quarterback hits.”

Vegas oddsmakers have Parsons as one of a trio of favorites — all edge rushers — to win NFL Defensive POY alongside Detroit’s Aidan Hutchinson and Garrett, who won the award in 2022.

Parsons has finished as NFL Defensive POY runner-up twice, in 2021 and 2022, and finished third in 2023. In 2024, Parsons missed a career high 4 games as the Cowboys stumbled to a 7-10 finish, had a career low in sacks (12.0) and finished outside the Top 3 in NFL Defensive POY voting for the first time.

Only one player in Cowboys history has won NFL Defensive POY with defensive end Harvey Martin in 1977.

If the Cowboys do succeed in bouncing back in 2025, they’ll need a large dose of Parsons. Two NFC East teams, the Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles, squared off in last year’s NFC Championship Games, with the Eagles going on to win the Super Bowl.

Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame