Cowboys News: Micah Parsons Ties DeMarcus Ware's Franchise Rookie Sack Record

Micah Parsons is having quite the rookie season.

The Dallas Cowboys linebacker and pass-rusher tied DeMarcus Ware's rookie franchise sack record of eight sacks with two more Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.

That isn't the only impressive company Parsons is keeping:

Parsons, 22, was the No. 12 overall pick by the Cowboys in the 2021 NFL draft after a successful tenure at Penn State as a linebacker. The belief was that he would join Leighton Vander Esch in Dallas to form a fearsome linebacker corps. 

But defensive coordinator Dan Quinn realized that Parsons, who played defensive end in high school, had serious chops coming off the edge.

"The pass-rushing part of him, he has really picked up where he left off," he told reporters in June. "He really had good speed off the edge. That part of the game is intact. Now we are working on behind-the-ball things: man-to-man, playing zone, blitzing from off the ball. Those are things we can feature and assess." 

DeMarcus Lawrence began working with Parsons off the edge.

"Last week we were watching film of pass rush, and D-Law came up to me and was like, 'You pass rush like that, rook?'" Parsons told reporters in June. "I was like, 'Yeah, I used to be a defensive end.' He was like, 'All right, tap in with me.' Me and him have been getting closer. If he's out there, he'll help me out and we'll talk a little bit."

Parsons' development as a pass-rusher has been huge with Lawrence sidelined with a broken foot and Randy Gregory out with a calf injury.

Getting those edge-rushers healthy will help the Cowboys defense, but Parsons has proved too disruptive, even as a part-time pass-rusher, to remove him from the role.