Cowboys outside linebacker Micah Parsons said on Sunday that rather than being compared to Lawrence Taylor, he’d like to be the player that other players are compared to. Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians said today that he also wouldn’t compare Parsons to Taylor.
Arians, who coached against Parsons in Week One, says that’s because it’s way too soon to compare any rookie to Taylor, whom Arians (like many others) regards as the greatest defensive player in NFL history.
“He’s started to have a heck of a career. But when you’re talking about the best defensive player in the history of this league, slow down a little bit,” Arians said on the Dan Patrick Show, via Andrew Perloff.
Parsons has just about locked up the defensive rookie of the year award and may even earn the defensive player of the year award -- awards only Taylor has won in the same season. Parsons will be mentioned alongside Taylor if he does win both awards, but Arians thinks that’s a bit premature.