DALLAS — Linebacker Micah Parsons is not just a shoo-in for the top defensive rookie award; the Dallas Cowboys first-round pick is a strong candidate for NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
The first and only time a rookie defender took home both awards was Lawrence Taylor in 1981. For the past week, sports media has made comparisons between the Hall of Fame outside linebacker and Parsons, who watched highlights of LT in college and has respect for him.
"He is arguably the best defensive player to ever play football; very dominant, fast," Parsons told reporters Wednesday. "He kind of created that raw, play with a lot of effort [style]. He kind of created that linebacker position, that edge LB position."
Taylor was a fixture among a Giants linebacking corps that featured Carl Banks opposite of Taylor and with Gary Reasons and Harry Carsons on the inside. The former North Carolina Tar Heel collected a record-setting three NFL Defensive Player of the Year Awards with the others beyond his rookie season coming in 1982 and 1986.
Taylor was also catalytic in the Giants winning Super Bowls at the end of the 1986 and 1990 seasons. Throughout his 13-year career, Taylor amassed 132.5 sacks officially. Throw in his rookie year when he had 9.5, a season before sacks became an official stat, and Taylor had 142.
Parsons believes any comparisons to Taylor are presumptuous after he has played 13 career games.
"It's really too early," Parsons said. "I could see the similarities, but LT was completely different. It's an honor that people are doing that. But to be compared to a Hall-of-Famer so early on, I mean, it's not ready to be in the conversation yet. I still have a long way to go. He had 142 [sacks] so, I got 130 more to go before we start saying that was LT.“
“So, let's just chill. Keep on enjoying the work I got to keep putting in to get there."
NFL on FOX play-by-play announcer Troy Aikman played against Taylor for the first five seasons of his career as the Dallas Cowboys' quarterback from 1989-2000. While he agrees the comparisons are "a little unfair" to Taylor, he understands why people are drawing such parallels.
"He certainly has that kind of game-changing ability and impact, and to have that on the defensive side of the ball is unusual," Aikman told "The Musers" on 1310 "The Ticket" [KTCK-AM] Tuesday. "There hasn’t been a lot of those types of guys."
Parsons has amassed 12.0 sacks, 17 tackles for loss, 27 quarterback hits, and three forced fumbles, the only rookie to do so since 2006.
Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn grew up a Giants fan 20 miles west of Manhattan in Morristown, New Jersey. Quinn loved the attitude of the '80s Giants led by Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells, the heavyweight fights of NFC East football, and had a poster of Taylor on the wall of his bedroom. As an old Giants fan and as Parsons' coach, Quinn understands that the former Penn State product has made his impact from a variety of spots, not just at outside linebacker.
"For Micah, we just want him to be the best version of himself," Quinn said. "Like, he plays at different positions than [Taylor]. He’s an outside linebacker some, a defensive end some, but he’s also an inside linebacker more of the time where we blitz him from off the ball. So, back then, it was Carson and Reasons and others. LT and Banks off the edges. So, you knew where everybody was going to be most of the time.”
"With this one, we try to put him in different spots and different ways to find matchups. So, it's a different game than it was then."
Matching Taylor's feat of winning Defensive Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year isn't on Parsons' conscious; helping the 9-4 Cowboys finish strong during the final four games is what fuels his competitive drive.
Said Parsons: "We still got a long stretch left. I got to keep doing what I am doing to even think about those types of things and finish this season off strong. I still got a lot of work to put in and other guys around the league are dominating still, so it's not something to get comfortable with, but it's definitely a good thought to have.”
The Cowboys play the 4-9 Giants on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET at MetLife Stadium.
Do you think Micah Parsons should be considered a frontrunner for the Defensive Player of the Year award? Share your thoughts with Mark on Twitter @therealmarklane.