I am really amazed that so many of us.... well, let's be honest... me... were kind of mediocre on the Parsons pick. He fit the category of "solid draft pick" "sensible draft pick" "high floor kind of guy" You know, kind of like... we'll its our duty to fill the LB spot... so let's find a guy.
He was removed from football for one year, which cast his intensity of the game in doubt.
He was a linebacker, which Dallas has a philosophy against picking high or investing much money at the position.
So many things made Parsons seem like a routine pick... other positions of need were unfilled because other teams grabbed the players that had the flash.
And all of that was so wrong... You look at the Falcons game, where he blows up a double team, getting one pancake block on a guard, and nearly sending the other OL guy to the ground, and makes the TFL on the running back.
He uses his 4.3 speed to embarass the right tackle and explode on the quarterback. Ya remember those sports science episodes? I'd bet his mass and velocity combination is near the top... 240 lbs at 4.39 speed? Vicious... lets be honest, there was a bit of luck in drafting Parsons, especially since we traded down to get him. His redraft would be top 5, easy, and some teams might look at him as a #1 overall in a few years.
So glad that he's a Dallas Cowboy.