Cowboys’ Micah Parsons wants people to ‘chill’ with Lawrence Taylor comparisons
Is Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons the next Lawrence Taylor?
Perhaps the better question is, has anyone compared to the New York Giants legend ever gone on to have the same sort of impact? The answer, quite simply, is “no.”
But here we are in 2021 and another defensive gem has come along. With it, comparisons to Taylor and questions about what could be. Even Giants running back Saquon Barkley has gotten in on the action.
“I’ve never really seen anything like him. (Parsons) really LT-like, to be honest,” Barkley told Yahoo Sports. “It is what it is: He’s insane. Every week, [Parsons is] one of those guys that, even if I can’t watch his game, I’ll look and say, ‘What is he doing?’
“And I am not just saying this because we’re friends. The sky is really the limit with him. If he keeps working hard and keeping his head on straight, he can be even better than he is now. That’s the scary thing.”
As a rookie, Parsons is dominant. There are no ifs, ands or buts about that. His numbers are through the roof and he’s not only a candidate for the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, but the Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Awards, ironically, that only one man has ever won at the same time: Lawrence Taylor.
Still, even Parsons himself recognizes that it’s too early for these comparisons and wishes people would chill with it.
“It’s real too early. I could see the similarities, but LT was completely different. It’s an honor that people are doing that. But to 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,” Parsons told reporters this week. “He had a 142, so I got 130 more sacks to go before we start saying that was LT. So let’s just chill.”
Parsons knows that although he’s been dominant as a rookie, it’s nothing compared to Taylor — a man he calls the greatest defensive player of all-time.
“He is arguably the best defensive player to ever play football. Very dominant. Fast. He kind of created that raw play with a lot of effort. He kind of created that linebacker position, that edge LB position,” Parsons added.
As talented as Parsons is, there’s only one LT. There’s only ever going to be one LT. No one will ever have a similar impact on the game, but that is no knock on Parsons. The sky is the limit and he very well may be a generational player.
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