The unofficial has become official with the Dallas Cowboys: Two-time first-team All-Pro Micah Parsons said Wednesday that he is making the transition from linebacker to defensive end, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Parsons elaborated that adding “bulk and weight” has been part of his offseason workout regimen while training in Austin, Texas. The plan is for him to return to the Cowboys during organized team practices, which start May 22. The bulk Parsons plans to add is no more 10 pounds, as he tweeted he doesn’t plan on playing at a weight any heavier than 255 pounds.
While Parsons may be making the entire world aware of his positional switch in advance of the 2023 season, the 31 other NFL teams were probably aware that his transition to defensive end already took place in 2022. He truly was a linebacker his rookie year in 2021, in which he won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, lining up in a traditional linebacker location before the snap 55.2% of the time, according to Pro Football Focus. The pendulum of his pre-snap location swung hard the other way in 2022, when he lined up an overwhelming 81.1% of the time along the defensive line.
Micah Parsons Career Defensive Snap Alignment
| 2021 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
Defensive Line | 41.3% | 81.1% |
Linebacker | 55.2% | 18.1% |
Defensive Back | 3.5% | 0.8% |
*Data according to Pro Football Focus
The switch made Parsons a better player at one of the most valuable skills in the entire NFL: being able to get after the quarterback. He co-led the NFL in quarterback pressures (90) last season with 2022 Defensive Player of the Year and San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa, while his 13.5 sacks last season ranked as the seventh-most in the NFL, five behind Bosa’s league-leading 18.5. Even when he was lining up mostly at linebacker as a rookie, Parsons still wreaked havoc in opposing backfields, totaling just one-half sack fewer in 2021 (13.0). However, his quarterback pressures total improved significantly from Year 1 when his 67 pressures were tied for the ninth-most in the NFL.
The positional switch likely explains Parsons jumping for joy when the Cowboys selected Michigan defensive tackle Mazi Smith with their first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, because the All-Pro saw a player who can garner more attention from interior offensive linemen. That would free him up to go one-on-one with opposing offensive tackles more frequently, a battle Parsons wins more often than not.
“You got to give him attention,” Parsons said of Smith, per ESPN. “He’s going to push guys back. He’s powerful. He’s strong. He’s going to get under people’s pads, and he’s great in the run and we’re going to develop him in the pass.”
The thinking in Dallas is probably that the more strength Parsons adds as his snap alignment tilts even more toward the defensive line position, the more his quarterback pressures and sack numbers will continue to rise.
Go to Source
Author: Garrett Podell
May 3, 2023 | 5:12 pm
