Dallas Cowboys LB Micah Parsons: 'I want to be the queen of linebackers.'

Dallas Cowboys rookie linebacker Micah Parsons had a unique way of describing his NFL goals.

“I want to be the queen of linebackers,” the first-round draft pick said in a press conference after training camp practice on Tuesday.

To be clear, Parsons was making a chess reference. Here’s the full quote:

“Being a versatile player makes a challenge for anybody to stop it, anybody to scheme up,” Parsons said. “You want to kind of be like a queen on the board, you don’t ever want to be a rook and only go straight, or only go sideways. You want to be able to go diagonal, and I think that’s what makes the queen so strong. I just kind of want to be the queen of linebackers … but a king, in a way.”

Parsons challenges Amari Cooper to chess match

As Todd Brock of USA Today Sports noted, Parsons’ and Dallas wide receiver Amari Cooper have been playing chess during the offseason.

“Veteran wideout Amari Cooper has long been a chess aficionado and perhaps the team’s unofficial grandmaster since coming over from the Raiders in 2018,” Brock said. “It didn’t take long this spring for the 22-year-old to find a seat across from Cooper at the board.”

Parsons fell in his first matchup against the former Alabama football star.

Dallas Cowboys rookie @MicahhParsons11 called out veteran Amari Cooper to a chess match.

The two played. Amari won. And he enjoyed putting Micah in checkmate.

(via @AmariCooper9) pic.twitter.com/3yRz5zweTm

— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) June 8, 2021

Parsons obviously doesn’t like to lose, so just like he does on the gridiron, the former Penn State bruiser adjusted his game and beat Cooper in their next chess match.

Come for Cowboys rookie LB @MicahhParsons11 beating Amari Cooper in chess, stay for Micah’s ruthless celebration at Coop’s expense 😅 pic.twitter.com/xFzxrUXnGK

— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) June 10, 2021

Chess is a game of intelligence and versatility, two traits that helped make Parsons the No. 12 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft.

“I like to go after the quarterback. I like to make big plays,” Parson said. “But at the same time, I like to be in coverage because you could get a big payoff: a pick or you could strip the wide receiver. You can always find a way to disrupt the game, no matter which one it is. So I kind of like doing it all.”

Parsons sat out the 2020 season due to COVID-19, but the Dallas rookie closed out his 2-year tenure with impressive stats. He left Penn State with 191 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, five pass deflections and a fumble recovery.

That’s about as versatile as it gets, so maybe the “queen of linebackers” will stick.