OXNARD, California – The Dallas Cowboys have a problem. How can they possibly make Micah Parsons better?
Not after the rookie season he just finished. Thirteen sacks, 84 tackles, and three forced fumbles led to Parsons being named the Rookie Defensive Player of the Year in the NFL.
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“It’s just not all about his statistics,” points out head coach Mike McCarthy. “He’s going to make others better around him just because the offense has to treat him differently.”
The biggest jump most players make in the league is from year 1 to year 2, but in Parsons’ case that may be too much to ask, placing too much pressure on the 23-year-old.
“I don’t believe in pressure,” an adamant response by Parsons. “I think pressure is what other people’s aspects of how they view you. And if that gets you off your game, you’re probably in the wrong sport.”
Clearly Micah is not in the wrong sport, but he has made improvements since last season and it starts with his diet.
“I just wanted to lose weight to play lighter,” Parsons explains. “Hung up the Chick-fil-A, the Wendy’s and stuff like that.”
While Parsons is eliminating fried foods, he made it clear he’s not a vegetarian and while he topped 254 pounds, Parsons tells us he reported to camp at 244 pounds.
After what he and his teammates Trevon Diggs and CeeDee Lamb have done early in their careers, do they talk about what they can do together going forward.
“I know CeeDee has super high expectations for himself,” says Parsons. “Same with Tre and myself, so it’s kind of like we’re shooting for the stars right now. "
The brightest being the Super Bowl.