Micah Parsons didn't play much in Thursday night's Hall of Fame Game, but the linebacker showed why the Dallas Cowboys pined to make him their first-round pick during the draft process.
The speedy linebacker was all over the field in the brief action he saw in the first quarter of the 16-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"It felt good," Parsons said, per the Dallas Morning News. "It was bittersweet that I didn't get to play a lot. I felt like it was a good experience to get my feet wet and get a feel for the game. I made some mistakes; there were some good things. I am just going to build off for it."
Parsons compiled three tackles and recovered a botched snap. More than counting stats, Parsons was always around the ball while playing in just one quarter. It was nearly impossible to have your eye not instinctively go to Parsons. He stands out that much.
There was one play in which Steelers wideout Ray-Ray McCloud got to the edge on Parsons. The run only went for two yards but gave Parsons something to point toward to improve upon moving forward.
"I like to have clean games," he said. "I like to be flawless. I like to be perfect. I just like to be great when I play. I put a lot of love and work into my craft, so when I come out here, I just want to be perfect."
Dallas sorely needed playmakers on a defense that was lacking at every level last season. In just one game, Parsons flashed the talent to be an impact player from the jump in his career.
"Preparing against the No. 1 offense, this year, and that's the Dallas Cowboys this year," Parsons said. "Going against CeeDee [Lamb], Ced [Wilson] and Noah [Brown] every day, and you have Zeke [Elliott] and Tony [Pollard] to chase after every day, it makes it a lot easier when you have to come out here. That made it easier. That was why I got drafted here, to go sideline to sideline."
That sideline-to-sideline ability Parsons displayed Thursday should be even more evident when he gets a full game of action once the season starts.
