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The Dallas Cowboys have been good when it comes to their draft picks in recent years. First with Ezekiel Elliott, then Leighton Vander Esch, Trysten Hill, Trevon Diggs and Ceedee Lamb.
But with their 12th pick in the 2021 draft, the Cowboys might just have the best of the lot. Linebacker Micah Parsons has been phenomenal this season for the Cowboys and has been one of the best players for Dallas this season, if not the best.
Micah Parsons frontrunner for NFL DROY 2021
Parsons has been superb in his rookie season. He has started all 11 games for the Cowboys, has a rookie franchise record in sacks with nine, overtaking future Hall of Famer Demarcus Ware, who tallied eight in his rookie season.
Parsons has two forced fumbles to his name, 67 combined tackles and 23 quarterback hits. While those stats paint the picture of a player who will be a star in the league for the next decade, there is one stat that puts Parsons in the same breath as Rams defensive end Aaron Donald.
Parsons has a total of 15 tackles for loss through 11 games. That is the most by any player in their first 11 games since Aaron Donald.
Now that is not saying Parsons will end up being the game-wrecker that Donald is, but he is surely on his way. Such has been his impact in his rookie season that Parsons is not only in line for Defensive Player of the Year but also NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Trevon Diggs was thought to be in the frame for the award after his blistering start to the season after he had seven interceptions through the first six games but has only one more to his name in the last five games.
But for Parsons, he has continued his strong form and has become a wrecking ball for opposing offenses to deal with. The former Penn State star can be deployed in both the traditional linebacker position as well as defensive end.
Given Parsons' output for the Cowboys this year, the future will be exciting, especially to see if he can produce this level of performance year after year, similar to Aaron Donald. Either way, the Cowboys have a genuine star and have yet again hit on their draft pick.
