Top rookies propel their teams into NFL playoff races
DENVER (AP) » After a recent road win by the Dallas Cowboys, receiver Simi Fehoko tweeted, “Just trying to find my seat on the plane and was sacked by Micah . ... Nobody is safe.”
Everybody seems to have their head on a swivel for rookie linebacker Micah Parsons.
The do-it-all defender combines a rare versatility — he lines up at linebacker, defensive end and even over center — with a dogged determination as he chases down quarterbacks, ball carriers, rookie records, the playoffs, NFL honors and even history.
Parsons’ 13 sacks are 1½ shy of the rookie record set by Jevon Kearse of the Tennessee Titans in 1999. Parsons is already the first rookie in 15 years to get a dozen sacks and three forced fumbles. And with 79 tackles so far, he has an outside chance of getting triple-digit tackles to go with his double-digit sacks.
Better are the odds that he’ll become the first player in 40 years to sweep the league’s two biggest defensive awards, player and rookie of the year. The previous to do that was Pro Football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor in 1981.
“I will say it’s hard to have expected what No. 11 is doing in terms of doing all the things that he’s asked to do, whether it’s make great plays in coverage, whether it’s make plays on the quarterback from the blitzing spot, whether it’s a natural pass rusher, whether it’s just running plays down sideline to sideline,” Cowboys executive vice president of personnel Stephen Jones said on his radio show. “Who could have ever thought that he could digest all of that and be able to line up at all those different positions and get it done?” Parsons, that’s who. Early glimpses of his ambition came through during HBO’s “Hard Knocks” series from training camp. Parsons begged to get back into preseason games, and wasn’t happy when he didn’t. He told an assistant coach, “The lion is always hungry,” and has since trademarked that unexpected catchphrase.
After allowing a franchise-high 29.5 points a game last year, the Cowboys are allowing just 19.5 points per game, and Parsons is the biggest reason for that dramatic drop.
Parsons skipped college football’s truncated COVID-19 year in 2020 before getting drafted 12th overall by the Cowboys last April. Dallas moved down two spots in the draft after two cornerbacks the club was targeting at No. 10 were taken. South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn went to Carolina at No. 8, and Patrick Surtain II of Alabama was taken ninth by Denver.
Now, Parsons leads a group of rookies who have helped put their teams in the heat of the playoff race. They include New England quarterback Mac Jones, Cincinnati receiver Ja’Marr Chase and San Francisco running back Elijah Mitchell, who hopes to return from a knee injury this week.
Other teams feature rookie duos setting them up for bright futures and perhaps the possibility of sneaking into this year’s postseason.
In Denver, it’s Surtain and tackle-breaking, bulldozing running back Javonte Williams, although the Broncos’ playoff chances are almost nil after their 1713 stumble at Las Vegas last weekend left them at 7-8 and facing long odds.
In Miami, it’s Jaylen Waddle and Jaelen Phillips, whose Dolphins are in the AFC postseason mix after their 20-3 win over New Orleans that made them the first team in NFL history to win seven consecutive games in the same season that they endured a sevengame losing streak.
Surtain has been everything the Broncos’ front office and coaching staff envisioned. He’s broken up or intercepted a dozen passes, including a pair of fourthquarter picks of Justin Herbert in Denver’s 28-13 win over the Chargers last month.