Parsons, Cowboys incumbents shaping up as one of NFL’s top 2021 position battles

Every coach wants competition in training camp. Whether it’s through the signing of veteran free agents at key spots or the restocking of the roster via the draft, the goal is to let on-the-field action during summer determine who is still on the field when autumn rolls around.

And while some competitions are a mere formality, there are some positional battles whose outcomes are truly up in the air and could genuinely result in a changing of the guard when final depth charts are announced.

The Cowboys may have one of the league’s most interesting such battles brewing in the middle layer of Dan Quinn’s defense. So says NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks, who believes “it is only a matter of time” before the club’s first-round pick in 2021 pushes out one of the team’s veteran linebackers.

Penn State’s Micah Parsons, selected 12th overall in this year’s draft, is expected to make waves in the Dallas defense in his very first year. While it would be a welcome turn of events for Cowboys fans who were frustrated by 2020’s porous play, an uptick in the team’s linebacker play could come at the eventual expense of either Leighton Vander Esch or Jaylon Smith.

“Perhaps the Cowboys will find a way to feature Parsons, Smith and LVE as the starters in their 3-4 scheme,” Brooks writes. But sooner or later, he continues, Parsons will likely become the centerpiece of the defense:

“Parsons is an ultra-explosive athlete with exceptional instincts, awareness and pass-rush ability. He adds a dimension to the defense with his playmaking skills, and it will be hard for the veterans to fend off the youngster in a battle. That said, Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn might come up with a few packages that enable Parsons to complement what Smith and LVE do as tackle-to-tackle defenders with big thump ability.”

While Parsons, Vander Esch, and Smith may indeed share time as a three-headed monster this season, it seems unlikely that the trio will remain intact in the long term. The Cowboys have already declined Vander Esch’s fifth-year option, making the upcoming campaign something of a prove-it year for the Boise State product who has endured multiple injuries of late. 2021 also marks the last of the guaranteed money on Smith’s current megacontract; his recent play wouldn’t seem to be living up to the front office’s sizable investment.

And while Parsons could conceivably make one of those veterans expendable, don’t forget that Dallas also has Jabril Cox looking to force his way onto the team. The LSU linebacker lasted until the fourth round of the draft, but has already been named the biggest steal of the incoming rookie class.

Of course, there’s also free agent safety Keanu Neal, who is undergoing a switch from safety and is already listed on the team website as a linebacker… and third-year project Luke Gifford, a diamond-in-the-rough at the position who’s simply had terrible luck with preseason injuries.

Vander Esch, Smith, Parsons, Cox, Neal, Gifford. A competitive positional battle in training camp is one thing. But the 2021 Cowboys’ linebacker corps might just have a full-blown cage match on its hands.

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