Micah Parsons Poised for Breakout Season Under Matt Eberflus
Dallas Cowboys superstar EDGE defender Micah Parsons is entering his fifth year in the league and is undoubtedly one of the NFL's best defensive playmakers.
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He is stepping into a leadership role this season as he's talked about wanting the defensive line unit to work together more as a group during the offseason.
"Just being vocal, understanding what looks right," Parsons said during minicamp. "They're going through the drills and guys ask me; 'How'd I look?', just simple things, 'How's my footwork?', it's not always the major things that make football great, it's always the small details, the footwork, the positioning, the angles, things like that I think I can contribute."
Parsons will now have a chance to be an be even more dynamic chess piece in new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus' scheme. ...
Maybe even the NFL's very best defensive chess piece.
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Bleacher Report's Brent Sobleksi believes that under Eberflus, Parsons is a candidate to win the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award for the first time.
'Parsons is the most difficult pass-rusher in the NFL to contain because of his explosiveness and capability of playing multiple positions along the defensive front seven—which the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff plans to take full advantage of under the direction of new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus,' Sobleski wrote.
Eberflus plans to utilize Parsons' full, versatile skillset as defender by putting him and his teammates in positions to succeed.
"We had a meeting—him and I had about a half-hour meeting yesterday on that very subject, just him and I in my office," Eberflus told the Doomsday Podcast. "And for him, you have to move this guy around. Now, what's great about our current roster is that we have other rushers now that can rush. So to pay attention to one particular rusher is going to be more difficult than if you just had one on one side. That's going to be a good thing, too."
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With a renewed focus on leadership, attention to detail, and a defensive scheme tailored to his strengths, Parsons is poised to take his game and the Cowboys defense to a whole new level in 2025. ... maybe all the way up to the point at which Micah wins the NFL's top defensive honor.
Related: The Bar Is Low and That Might Be the Best Thing for the Cowboys
Related: Sam Williams vs. Donovan Ezeiruaku Headlines Cowboys Camp Competition
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
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