Micah Parsons of the Cowboys Critiques TJ Watt’s Top-5 Pass Rusher Status Following DPOY Snub

Does Micah Parsons have some sort of beef with TJ Watt? It hasn’t nearly been 24 hours since the Defensive Player of the Year award was announced in Vegas, and the Cowboys linebacker is stirring up controversies.

After losing out on the DPOY award, Watt expressed his disappointment on X. But Parsons argued that the voters got the decision correct and the Pittsburgh Steelers LB did not deserve the honor this year.

In an exclusive interview with CBS Sports’ Zach Gelb, Parsons argued why he believes that Myles Garrett was the deserving winner of the DPOY. He told Gelb,

I’m not a sore loser; I thought it [DPOY] should have gone to Myles if not me. If you look at the Titans game alone—no offense—but T.J. played the Titans, and did you see two tight ends following Watt?

Then Parsons claimed that, in similar circumstances, the Cleveland Browns defensive end fared better compared to Watt.

Like they did vs. Myles Garrett. Say what you want, but Myles’ presence is felt a lot more than T.J. Watt’s, and that’s just the reality of it.

Micah Parsons didn’t include TJ Watt in his top 5 pass rushers

Well, the three-time Pro Bowler’s words do have truth to them. As per ESPN stats, he does have a better pass rush win rate compared to Garrett and Watt. Parsons completed 35%, Garrett had 30%, and Watt had a 25% success rate.

But is the pass rush the end of all of the debate? There’s much more to it than being a defender on the front lines. Besides targeting the opposing quarterback, one of the main objectives of players like Watt and Parsons is blocking and covering the runs. But the Cowboys man refrained from including that in his criteria of being the best at their position.

October 29, 2023, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA Oct. 29, 2023, T.J. Watt 90 during the Pittsburgh Steelers vs Jacksonville Jaguars game in Pittsburgh PA at Acrisure Stadium. (Image via IMAGO)
However, what caught attention the most was that the Penn State graduate excluded Watt from his top 5 pass rushers list. Parsons told Gelb,

If you look at my win rate and my double team percentage, I was the best one this year, so I would say me, then I would say Myles Garrett, then Maxx Crosby, then Nick Bosa.

Micah Parsons doesn't believe TJ Watt is a top-5 pure pass rusher in football.

@CBSSportsRadio

@MicahhParsons11 @_TJWatt 👀 pic.twitter.com/GVBlG1EXGC

— Zach Gelb (@ZachGelb) February 9, 2024

According to Parsons, Watt’s Steeler teammate Alex Highsmith had a better year.

Alex Highsmith might have had a higher pass rush win rate than Watt did.

Parsons may have his head in the right place, but when citing from someplace, he needs to keep tabs. The ESPN pass rush stat clearly states that Watt was fourth in pass rush win rate, which is 15 spots higher than Nick Bosa. Raiders Maxx Crosby doesn’t even rank in the top 20.