Micah Parsons admits he’s ‘a huge fan’ of Aaron Donald ahead of Rams game
By Mike Luciano
The Dallas Cowboys may have one of the best defensive players in the league on the roster in the always-electric Micah Parsons, but he doesn’t have a legitimate claim to the title of the league’s top defensive star thanks to the presence of Los Angeles Rams megastar Aaron Donald.
Even though Parsons has been getting comparisons to the likes of Lawrence Taylor, Donald will likely hold the title of best defensive player in the league emeritus until he retires. Parsons will get a chance to see just how close he is to replicating Donald’s dominance in their Week 5 clash.
The Cowboys may be facing a Rams team that has sputtered to begin the season, but the presence of Donald means they can never be taken lightly. Parsons is well aware of this, given what a huge fan he is of Donald’s game and the way he conducts himself on the field.
“My level of respect for him is through the roof,” Parsons said, via dallascowboys.com. “He sets the tone for their defense. He’s dominated since his rookie year. He’s been an All-Pro since his rookie year and he’s the standard of how you wanna be when you come into the league.”
Cowboys LB Micah Parsons on Rams DT Aaron Donald: “I’m hoping I can keep following in his footsteps and reach his level of greatness and success. I’m a huge fan of him. I hope I get his jersey in my man cave one day.”
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 6, 2022
Cowboys’ Micah Parsons is a big fan of Aaron Donald
Only five players in the league have more sacks than Parsons, who has four through four games. One of them, Bradley Chubb, has five games under his belt. Parsons finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting last year thanks to an all-time great season from Donald, but he might have a more legit shot this year.
As fun as the Cooper Rush experience has been, the Cowboys are winning games because of their defense. Dan Quinn’s unit is giving up 15.5 points per game, which is third-best in the league. No team has scored 20 points against Dallas this year, and Parsons is the main reason why.
If you ask Dante Fowler, someday there won’t be much difference between Donald and Parsons’ respective peaks.
Cowboys DE Dante Fowler: “Aaron Donald is the best defensive player in the world and Micah Parsons is eventually going to take that role. He’s probably one of the top 3 defenders in the league right now.”
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 7, 2022
Parsons is already such a dominant young player that he is being viewed as the unquestioned leader of this Dallas defense after just 1.25 seasons in the fold. If you’re looking for Donald parallels, he assumed that role after winning Defensive Rookie of the Year.
If Parsons ends up having half the career Donald has had, he could end up with a gold jacket by the time it is all said and done. As far as choosing a role model goes, picking arguably the best defensive tackle in NFL history is not a bad choice for the dynamic pass rusher.
