4 players the Carolina Panthers could have picked instead of Jaycee Horn
By Jason Huber
Carolina Panthers could have picked Micah Parsons
The Carolina Panthers are by far not the only team that is probably shaking their head in not drafting Micah Parsons. The former Penn State linebacker fell all the way to the Dallas Cowboys at pick No. 12 and had one of the best rookie seasons we’ve seen by a defensive player in quite some time.
Parsons is almost certainly guaranteed to win the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and even though he probably won’t win it, he is in consideration for the league Defensive Player of the Year, as well.
In Dallas, Parsons played at multiple spots on defense despite coming into the league as a middle linebacker. Considering that Carolina has desperately needed a legit second-level presence since the retirement of Luke Kuechly, going in this direction might’ve made this Panthers defense elite.
For the Cowboys, Parsons compiled a franchise rookie record of 13 sacks and tied for the NFL lead with 20 tackles for loss, the most by a Dallas linebacker since 2017. He was named a Pro Bowler and first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press.
The possibility of having Parsons play on the same defense as Brian Burns, Haason Reddick, and Derrick Brown is mouth-drooling, and fans can’t help but think what could have been.
Many teams that opted to not take Parsons will have to watch him dominate in the league for a long, long time.