The Dallas Cowboys earned bragging rights over the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 2024 NFL regular season. But it’s probably safe to say regardless of how that game ended, Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons wouldn’t be in a complimentary mood when it comes to T.J. Watt.
Parsons was adamant voters correctly named Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett the league’s 2023 Defensive Player of the Year last offseason. In fact, Parsons ranked Garrett, himself, San Francisco 49ers’ Nick Bosa and Las Vegas Raiders’ Maxx Crosby ahead of Watt in terms of pure pass rushing.
On Feb. 5, Parsons again excluded Watt on his list of the NFL’s top five pure pass rushers.
“If you look at what I do, what Myles [Garrett] do, we all move around. I play right tackle, I play nose. I play left guard, right guard,” Parsons told Infinity Sports Network’s Zach Gelb. “If you talk about pure pass rushers, it’s probably a few of us that are in a league of our own, and everyone else is pretty much just high-end rushers.
“They don’t got versatility. They don’t move around. They don’t create matchups.
“What I say where the league’s at now, pure pass rusher. I mean, come on, bro. I don’t even think it’s close.”
In his interview with Gelb, Parsons mentioned Houston Texans’ Danielle Hunter and Cincinnati Bengals’ Trey Hendrickson as better pure pass rushers than Watt.
Micah Parsons Makes Distinction Between Pass Rusher, Overall Defensive Players
Parsons’ argument to exclude Watt on his list of the league’s top pure pass rushers seems to come down to semantics.
The Cowboys All-Pro admitted that Watt will make the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He added that Watt is even a top five defensive player in the league and one of the best football players ever.
“The way he creates turnovers. The things that he does on the field is unmatched,” Parsons said of Watt. “I think he’s a top-five defensive football player, but pure pass rusher?”
In one sense, it’s a fair argument because Watt does a lot of things well. According to Pro Football Focus, he was one of the best edge rushers in run defense during 2024. He also excelled in coverage based on the PFF player grades.
But pass rushing is Watt’s best trait. That’s why he’s led the NFL in sacks during three different seasons. No other defender has ever done that in league history.
PFF had Watt ranked with the fourth-best pass rushing grade among edge rushers who played at least 50% of his team’s defensive snaps in 2024. Garrett, Parsons and Hendrickson were ahead of him, but by a slim margin.
But maybe most important, Watt was in the top five.
Parsons Penalizing Watt for Lack of Pass Rush Disguise?
The other issue Parsons seems to have with Watt’s game is the fact he lines up at the same spot on defense regularly. Parsons is correct, Watt lines up over the opposing right tackle more often than not.
But again, Parsons’ argument stems back to semantics. One could easily interpret “pure” pass rusher as a player that’s so naturally talented that he beats the opposition repeatedly the same way.
Parsons seemed to suggest his success, along with Garrett’s, is more the product of disguise, lining up in different areas of the field.
Doing that, Parsons creates matchups, perhaps more favorable ones for his teammates. But Watt hasn’t needed to do that to create pressure for the Steelers. Again, he’s almost always in the same spot, and opposing teams still struggle to slow him down.
Ironically, Watt experienced a down season by his standards and said after the 2024 season he will be more open to lining up in different spots going forward. But in his “down season,” Watt had 11.5 sacks. In 2024, Parsons had 12.
Since entering the NFL in 2017, no defender has more sacks than Watt’s 108.
Over the past four years, Garrett leads the NFL with 60 sacks while Watt is second with 58.5. Parsons is fifth in sacks with 52.5 during that same stretch.
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