Micah Parsons Takes Harsh View of T.J. Watt as Top NFL Pass Rusher

Micah Parsons has left no doubt as to who he feels deserved the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year award, as he took to his account on X, formerly Twitter, and defended 2023 winner Myles Garrett from NFL fans who felt that Pittsburgh Steelers star T.J. Watt was more deserving. 

Well, Parsons has taken his defense of Garrett—and harsh view on Watt—even a step further. 

Parsons, during an appearance on CBS Sports Radio‘s The Zach Gelb Show, said that Garrett's "presence is way more dominant than T.J. Watt's."

Parsons then ranked his top five pass rushers in the league and Watt was not among them.

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

Parsons, citing the ESPN statistic pass rush win rate, ranked himself first, followed by Garrett, Maxx Crosby and then Nick Bosa. When pressed as to why Watt was not among the five best in the league, Parsons again pointed to win rate and double team rate, stating that Watt's own Steelers teammate Alex Highsmith had better marks in those categories. (Watt had the better win rate mark but not double team.)

The Dallas Cowboys star insisted that he has "no beef" with Watt, who edged him out for the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year award. 

It will be interesting to see if Watt has any sort of response to Parsons.