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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Dan Lyons

Lawrence Taylor: Micah Parsons Is ‘Special’

Just weeks into his second NFL season, Cowboys do-it-all linebacker Micah Parsons has emerged as a defensive force in the league. The reigning Rookie of the Year and First-Team All-Pro has drawn his share of comparisons to perhaps the greatest defensive player in NFL history—Giants legend Lawrence Taylor—and after his recent performance against New York, he got plaudits from the Hall of Famer himself.

Monday night’s game was a relatively quiet one for Parsons in the stat book, with one total tackle and a pair of quarterback hits in the 23–16 Dallas win. Even so, he made a serious impression on Taylor, who took to Twitter Tuesday night to compliment the Cowboys standout.

“And that [Micah Parsons] is special…can’t wait to see everything you achieve young man. God bless 👊🏾,” Taylor tweeted.

Parsons responded in kind just minutes later, thanking Taylor.

Taylor commented on Parsons during Monday’s game as well, challenging Parsons to keep up his level of play for as long as he did with New York.

“He’s playing pretty well,” Taylor said. “Let’s see if he can keep it up for dag-on 13 years.”

Parsons has proven to be a game-breaking talent for Dallas, with four sacks in the first two games of the season. Last season, he put up 84 tackles (20 for loss), with 13 sacks and three forced fumbles in 16 games.

He has a ways to go to reach Taylor, the 1986 league MVP, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year and 10-time All-Pro, but he’s off to a strong start. Like Parsons, Taylor won Defensive Rookie of the Year when he broke into the league in 1981.

For more Dallas Cowboys coverage, go to Cowboys Country. 

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