Dallas Cowboys deliver fantastic news regarding star player Micah Parsons

Actions speak louder than words. When the Dallas Cowboys say something, most fans know to take those statements with a grain of salt. But when the Cowboys show something, well, that’s a completely different story.

The Cowboys showed us something in Oxnard already and it can’t be seen as anything short of fantastic to fans: They are committed to Micah Parsons as a pass-rusher.

The Dallas Cowboys are still treating Micah Parsons as an EDGE and that speaks volumes

Micah Parsons has been a polarizing figure on the Dallas Cowboys from Day 1. The linebacker from Penn State garnered outrage when selected in the first round last season (me included) largely just because of the position he played.

Linebacker has long been seen as one of the most replaceable positions on the football field. Its WAR (wins above replacement) is low, its surplus value is low, and to pick one in the first round makes the opportunity cost high.

A generational pass-rusher is a completely different story.

Pass-rushers are one of the most valuable positions on the field in all of the listed categories above. A dominant pass-rusher can tip the balance of the game at any given moment and at any given time. Defenses are, by and large, a single point failure system where the total unit is only as strong as its weakest link. Pass-rushers are an exception because they are the attackers and not the attacked. And Micah proved to be quite the attacker.

After breaking onto the scene last season bouncing between off-ball linebacker and EDGE, Parsons quickly established himself as one of the most efficient pass rushers the league has seen. His pressure rate was better than the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year, and if it hadn’t have been for an increase in off-ball snaps late in the year, his pass-rushing totals would have shown it.

Cowboys Nation didn’t know how the Dallas Cowboys planned to deploy their best young player. Listed as a linebacker on their official roster, Parsons’ usage in the two spots seemed relatively unknown outside of Frisco. Would he rot away playing most of his snaps as an off-ball linebacker or would he be weaponized like early last season and spend most of his time rushing the passer? We needed to know.

If training camp in Oxnard is any indication, Parsons is going to be weaponized.

Micah was seen working in camp with Dan Quinn. Alongside DeMarcus Lawrence and Dorance Armstrong (the expected starting defensive ends) the three were working on EDGE play and pass-rush.

In team practices Parsons was getting regular reps as an EDGE player on both sides of the defensive line. The Dallas Cowboys let their actions do the talking and those actions said something powerful: Parsons is going to rush the passer a bunch.

When asked, Cowboys coaches said Parsons would split time between the LB room and the DE room. They are playing it close to the vest which is actually pretty commendable.

Parsons doesn’t have to line up as a DE to be effective. He can pass rush from anywhere (as we saw last season). In fact, much of his value comes from being used anywhere in any way imaginable. Offensive coordinators are going to have nightmares trying to account for the second-year superstar and Dan Quinn seems to be embracing that.

The Dallas Cowboys did very little to address the LB position this season. Besides Leighton Vander Esch, there’s very little veteran presence to solidify the second layer of defense. This reality caused some to fear Parsons would be used primarily as LB and waste his single greatest trait. But early camp returns say the Cowboys plan to use him as a top EDGE player and will not be banishing him to off-ball in 2022.

This is nothing short of fantastic news