Pro Football Focus Believes Micah Parsons Is The Best LB Prospect In Nearly A Decade

One of the big takeaways from bowl season last year was just how good Micah Parsons was. Against Memphis in the Cotton Bowl, Parsons forced 2 fumbles, had 14 tackles, and another 2 sacks. Pure domination. 

Parsons success isn't a surprise. He came to Penn State as one of the top recruits in his class and played right away as a true freshman in 2018. 

He is one of the top returning players for the 2020 season and there is some serious talk that he may be one of the best LB prospects in recent history. 

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SOURCE-Lead PFF draft analyst Mike Renner referenced Parsons' unique skill set during a recent prospect review.

"He isn’t just any top-10 pick — he’s the closest thing to a linebacker prototype since Luke Kuechly came out of Boston College back in 2012," Renner wrote.

We could see Parsons as a top-five pick come next April:

"Parsons has ideal size, athleticism and production for a linebacker prospect, and he was only a sophomore last season," Renner wrote. "If he could have declared for the 2020 NFL Draft, the chances are he would have been selected before Isaiah Simmons."

Simmons was the top linebacker off the draft board in April, landing with the Arizona Cardinals at eighth overall. This spring, longtime ESPN NFL Draft guru Mel Kiper called Parsons a top-five overall talent in the 2021 class and placed him atop the defensive prospect board.

The guy is electric to watch at Penn State. You can feel his impact on more plays than not. What he did against a good Memphis team last year should not be overlooked.

Performances like this happened all season. He had over 100 tackles through 13 games and showed up big against top competition (10 tackles, 1 FF against OSU).

I'm excited to see just how good Parsons can be this year for Penn State, who has a serious shot at making it to the CFP. SP+ has them ranked 5th heading into the season. 

As we inch closer to the 2020 season, I'll continue to blog about players you should keep your eye on. This is the second blog of this series. Previous blogs:

June 16th: The Most Underrated QB In College Football May Be In The Big Ten (Tanner Morgan)