Parsons vs White
By: Jake Rajala
The Packers acquired Micah Parsons before Week 1 kicked off. There were rumors that Philly wanted Parsons, but the Pack came away with the former Penn State LB.
Parsons was stunned by the trade. He expressed that he wouldn’t wish for anyone to go through what he went through, which was getting traded in September.
The arrival of Parsons reminds Packer fans of Reggie White. Parsons has been first team All-Pro twice, second-team All-Pro once, and he’s made the Pro Bowl in each season.
With that said, I’m going to compare White’s first four seasons to Parson’s first four seasons.
White:
- 70 sacks
- 407 total tackles
- six forced fumbles
Not only did White have incredible stats, but he dominated in short seasons. In 1987, he recorded 21 sacks in 12 games! Yes, you read that correctly.
White was named first-team All-Pro in three of his first four seasons.
Now it’s time to record the production from the 26 year old edge player, Parsons.
Parsons:
- 52.5 sacks
- 256 combined tackles
- nine forced fumbles
As you can see, Reggie White was more dominant than Parsons early in their careers. White has proven to be arguably the best defensive lineman of all time. White went on to be first-team All-Pro five more times. He was named DPOY twice in his career.
Let’s not forget that Reggie White has a Super Bowl ring, too. That’s added pressure on Parsons to get a ring.
Parsons is only 26, so he has plenty of time to catch White.
If you want to hear the Packers stadium cheer loud, just ask a fellow Packers fan how loud it was when Parsons ran out of the tunnel in Week 1. Parsons understand how much the Packers gave up for him, so he wants to live up to expectations.
Parsons was limited in Week 1, due to a back injury, but he still made an impact. He brought pressure to Goff on a play that resulted in an interception. He also chase down Goff and made a beautiful sack.
It was only Week 1. The playbook will open up more for Parsons. He won’t only line up on the edge, but he will hover over the center, too. We witnessed Clay Matthews move around quite a bit. They both have similar versatility.
Ultimately, Parsons is just entering his prime. He is only 26 years old. He is entering his fifth season. Aaron Donald won DPOY in their fourth season, but Myles Garrett won the award in his seventh season. There isn’t a magical season that edge players find gold and win DPOY.
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