Micah Parsons makes personal focus for Dallas Cowboys abundantly clear

Dallas Cowboys superstar linebacker Micah Parsons has already established himself as one of the elite pass rushers in the National Football League. He’s already racked up 26.5 sacks during his first two seasons with Dallas. But Parsons recently noted that coming into this season, he’s not worried about racking up the highest number of sacks in the league. The former Penn State star is not worried about his stats, but he’s more concerned about being a dominant player instead.

“I’m kinda off the sack wave. I’m onto the impact wave,” Parsons said, via Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News. “You see Aaron Donald. He can have 12 sacks, but the impact he makes is so dominant. You can tell. I really just want to be dominant. And then you see guys who have 16-17 sacks, but they’re not considered a guy. I want to be a guy, not one of the guys. You feel me? . . . I’m not chasing for something. I’m trying to achieve and be greater than someone who is chasing.”

If greatness is what Parsons is chasing, he’s certainly on the right path. He was named the 2021 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, after he racked up 13 sacks and 20 tackles for loss–tying for the best in the NFL in that stat category. Last year, his remarkable level of dominance continued, and he racked up 13.5 sacks. He’s well on his way to becoming one of the best pass rushers in league history.

It’s going to be fascinating to see just how great of a player he can truly be in the NFL.

Micah Parsons career trajectory

Before the start of the 2020 season at Penn State, Parsons decided to skip his senior season and begin training for the 2021 NFL Draft. As a sophomore in college, the uber-talented linebacker was named a consensus All-American prospect by the NCAA.

He also became the first sophomore linebacker in Big Ten history to win the Butkus-Fitzgerald linebacker of the year award. The Pennsylvania native was named a finalist for the Butkus Award, given to the top linebacker in college football. His sophomore season, he racked up 109 total tackles, while racking up 14 tackles for loss, five sacks, and five pass breakups. He also had four forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and four quarterback hurries.

His incredibly high levels of production drew plenty of attention from NFL scouts. Not only that, he blew away NFL scouts with his world-class speed for a player his size at his pro day. Tipping the scales at 6-foot-3, 246-pounds, Parsons ran a blazing 4.39-40 yard dash. Keep in mind, the record for a 40-yard dash by a linebacker at the NFL combine is 4.38 by Shaquiem Griffin in 2018. Griffin is three inches shorter and 20 pounds lighter than Parsons.