Micah Parsons is the clear front-runner for the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year

When it comes to being the best of the best, you can’t have a discussion about who’s the NFL’s best defensive player right now without throwing Micah Parsons’ name in the mix. He may have just 21 career games under his belt, but already a case could be made he’s the league’s best defensive player.

No. 11 was once again a force to be reckoned with in Week 5 against the Los Angeles Rams. According to Next Gen Stats, Parsons recorded two sacks and a team-high nine quarterback pressures. It was his third multi-sack game of the 2022 season and earned him a 91.4 pass rushing grade according to Pro Football Focus.

Parsons took full advantage of Los Angeles’ patchwork offensive line last Sunday. They simply had no answer for him, and because of that, he is now currently in a three-way tie for the league lead in sacks (six) with Nick Bosa and Matt Judon. On top of that, Parsons also leads the league in pressures (24) and is currently the NFL’s lone defender that ranks within the top three in sacks, tackles for loss, and QB hits this season.

Anyway you look at it, Parsons is arguably the best defender through the first five weeks of the 2022 NFL season. Despite the extra-special attention opposing offenses are sending his way on a play-by-play basis, he is still consistently winning. Even facing double and sometimes triple teams, his pass rush win rate is among the league leaders.

It’s no wonder the former No. 12 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft is the front-runner to win Defensive Player of the Year right now. All of the biggest betting sites in the United States have him as a favorite to win DPOY according to oddschecker.com.

As long as Parsons keeps on doing what he’s been doing so far this season, not only should he win Defensive Player of the Year, but he may get in the running for NFL MVP as well. That’s not too bad for a player in his second year in the league, and one, who doesn’t really have a defined position.

It’s simply amazing to think about how quickly he has developed into a premier player and pass rusher after only accumulating 6.5 QB sacks in his two-year career at Penn State. No one could’ve possibly envisioned him being in the discussion as the NFL’s best defensive player back then, but now you can’t have that discussion without him being in it.