Watch CBS News

Dallas Cowboys Add Help On Defense, Take Penn State Linebacker Micah Parsons With 12th Pick Of NFL Draft

Dallas Cowboys Use NFL Draft To Beef Up Defense Like Never Before Under Jerry Jones

Cowboys Get Badly-Needed Cornerback In 2nd Round Of NFL Draft Selecting Kelvin Joseph From Kentucky

FRISCO, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - The Dallas Cowboys needed help on defense and they got it in the form of Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons on Thursday night, April 29.

The Cowboys traded their 10th pick of the draft two NFC East rival Philadelphia after two cornerbacks, Jaycee Horn and Patrick Surtain II, were picked 8th and 9th.

The Cowboys received the Eagles' 12th pick and used it on Parsons, along with a third-round pick.

"Love the trade," tweeted CBS 11 Sports' Bill Jones.

Michah Parsons
Penn State Nittany Lions linebacker Micah Parsons (11) hoists the Defensive MVP trophy after the Goodyear Cotton Bowl between the Memphis Tigers and the Penn State Nittany Lions on December 28, 2019 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by John Bunch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

CBS 11 Sports' Keith Russell tweeted I hate to sound like I knew it but something told me @MicahhParsons11 was too talented to pass up. Any issues he had @PennStateFball you hope can be corrected @dallascowboys got a player (sic) maker."

According to The Draft Network:

Micah Parsons projects as a dynamic impact player at the NFL level. Parsons, who elected to opt-out of the 2020 college football season, has two seasons of high-impact play on his film resume and his impact was only further affirmed as the Penn State defense fell apart without him on the field for the 2020 season.

Parsons, who was a prized recruit as a pass rusher coming out of high school, is still ironing out some of finer points of play processing on the second level but his freakish combination of size and explosiveness allow him to explode and drive into gaps when he sees the play develop and as a result he's a persistent winner of beating ball carriers and blockers to the spot between the tackles.

Parsons is an impact player on third downs, which significantly boosts his value to pro teams and masks some of the inexperiences of transitioning to stack linebacker. He's a dynamic blitzer and has the versatility to rush against offensive linemen and claim victories to get home to the quarterback.

Parsons has illustrated an incredible level of pure instinct for the game thus far and his ability to navigate the line of scrimmage and rip at the football to create turnovers is best accentuated in an aggressive front defense that will task him with playing forward early in downs and not ask him to make flat footed reads before scraping and flowing to the ball.

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott tweeted, "Welcome @MicahhParsons11 lets get to work! @dallascowboys #GRIND #FAITH"

 

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.