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Dallas Cowboys Micah Parsons
September 3, 2024 By  Dallas Cowboys, NFC East, NFL

Dallas Cowboys’ Micah Parsons Primed to ‘Breakout’ According to NFL Scout

Micah Parsons has developed a reputation as a game-wrecker, one of the most disruptive pass-rushers in the sport, and is coming off a career-high 14 sacks last season, however, at least one veteran scout believes the Dallas Cowboys‘ edge rusher will elevate his game to new heights this fall.

Dallas Cowboys, Micah Parsons
Sep 10, 2023; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) is sacked by Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons (11) during the first half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

As the 2024 NFL season looms, ESPN surveyed NFL front office executives, evaluators, and coaches for their predictions for various awards for the upcoming campaign. One scout suggests that this is finally the season Parsons takes home the hardware as Defensive Player of The Year.

“The whole [Cowboys] defense is built around him, and they are going to move him all over the place to isolate matchups,” a veteran NFC scout told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. “And he’s in a contract year of sorts, so the motivation will be there to really break out.”

It’s hard to envision Parsons breaking out or being even more prolific this season than his first three as a professional.

Dallas Cowboys, Micah Parsons
Jul 31, 2024; Oxnard, CA, USA; Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons (11) runs a drill during training camp at the River Ridge Playing Fields in Oxnard, California. Mandatory Credit: Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports

They Key to Micah Parsons’ Defensive Player of The Year Possibilities for Dallas Cowboys

Given that the 2024 season will mark his first returning full-time to his natural position as an edge rusher, comfort at the position and more reps there could make him even more difficult for opposing offensive tackles to contain.

As the scout points out, Parsons has two years remaining on his current contract but has made overtures about wanting to rework his current deal. It would be much more difficult for owner Jerry Jones and the Cowboys to ignore them going into next season if he has the kind of season the scout expects.

Parsons enters the 2024 season with 40.5 career sacks since being chosen in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, and this may finally be the year that the former Penn State standout adds a Defensive Player of The Year trophy to his mantle.

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About Matt Lombardo

Matt Lombardo is a seasoned NFL reporter, with over 12 years of experience covering the league. In addition to his work at Gridiron Heroics, Lombardo covers the NFL for Heavy.com, is an on air sports contributor for FOX29 Philadelphia, and writes an NFL Substack "Between The Hashmarks." Lombardo is the former Senior NFL Insider of FanBuzz, and prior to taking that role was a national NFL reporter at FanSided where he hosted a weekly podcast "The Matt Lombardo Show." A former beat reporter for NJ Advance Media (Parent company of NJ.com and the Newark Star Ledger), Lombardo covered the Philadelphia Eagles from 2011 through the 2017 season before moving to cover the New York Giants for the Star Ledger for two seasons from 2018 through 2020. During his career to date, Lombardo has covered five Super Bowls, four NFL Drafts, multiple NFL Combines, and has had his work frequently featured in publications such as Pro Football Talk, CBS Sports, and more. In addition to his journalism work, Lombardo is a strong on air presence and is a former sports talk radio host on 97.5 FM The Fanatic, Philadelphia's first FM Sports Station and the radio home of the Philadelphia 76ers and Philadelphia Flyers.

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