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Cowboys' Micah Parsons on Breaking NFL Rookie Sack Record: 'I Know I Can Do It'
December 31, 2021
Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons is gunning for Jevon Kearse's rookie sack record over his team's final two games.
"It is on my mind," he said Wednesday. "Obviously, that would be an extraordinary thing to do for a guy that's an off-ball linebacker. It would really mean a lot to me. I know I can do it."
Kearse finished with 14.5 sacks in 1999. Parsons is hot on his heels with 13 through his first 15 games with the Cowboys.
As the 22-year-old said, his sack numbers are even more impressive because he's a more traditional linebacker rather than an edge-rusher whose primary objective is pressuring the quarterback. He had 6.5 sacks in the two years he played at Penn State.
The report on Parsons from Bleacher Report's NFL Scouting Department noted how he was "involved but not very developed" as a pass-rusher. The No. 12 pick has gone above and beyond what anybody expected.
Parsons is already drawing parallels to Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor, the last rookie to win Defensive Player of the Year.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero conducted a poll of 23 executives around the league to get the general vibe on this season's awards race. Parsons' four votes for DPOY were the second-most in the field.
He and T.J. Watt (+200) are the co-favorites in the eyes of oddsmakers at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Dallas finishes up with matchups against the Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles. The teams rank 16th and eighth, respectively, in sacks allowed. Neither game appears to be ideal for Parsons to feast against a leaky offensive line.
He has also failed to register a sack in five of the Cowboys' contests—he has had two-plus sacks on three occasions—so it's plausible he could stay stuck at 13.
Even if he fails to match or surpass Kearse's mark, Parsons has had a rookie campaign to remember.
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