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He was on the board at No. 11 when it came time for the Giants to make their pick, No. 11, in the first round of the 2021 draft. The Giants, they had a need for an edge rusher, and Micah Parsons from Penn State was sitting there, available.
He was a top linebacker prospect and not viewed at the time as a monster pass rusher. The Giants made a trade with the Bears, who came up to No. 11 and took quarterback Justin Fields. The Giants moved down to No. 20, selected Florida wide receiver Kadarius Toney and, for dropping down, gained the Bears’ 2022 first-round pick. The Cowboys eagerly scooped up Parsons at No. 12.
With this season heading into its final quarter, the early returns are not encouraging with this decision by the Giants — though the 2022 draft pick obviously cannot be evaluated. Parsons is tearing up the league and will be the sure-fire NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Toney is in and out of the lineup — he’s out Sunday with an oblique injury and also on the Reserve/COVID-19 list — and has shown only flashes of his physical gifts. He has not yet scored a touchdown.
If the Giants selected Parsons, he would be calling MetLife Stadium his football home. Instead, he plays his first game there this weekend, against the team that passed him up.
“This guy coming out of college, we knew he was going to be an impact player,” coach Joe Judge said. “We had a lot of love for this guy in the building, a lot of respect for him. We knew he was going to be a good player. They’re using him in different spots right now.
“This guy is a phenomenal player,” coach Joe Judge said. “I don’t think anyone is surprised by that. We knew he was going to be a really good player coming out, and I think it’s a tribute to how they’re using him down there to his strengths, how he’s able to complement that defense and make a lot of impact plays.”
Parsons leads all rookies with 12 sacks, surprising many draft analysts with his pass-rush ability. The Giants were not comfortable with how some of Parsons’ personality traits might fit into a long NFL career. Now they will be trying to figure out a way to block him for years to come.
This might be grasping to grab onto anything at all positive to take out of last week’s 37-21 loss to the Chargers. The Giants were down 37-7 before scoring two fourth quarter touchdowns on drives of 75 and 63 yards, with the game long-since decided.
“I don’t know if you want to call it momentum, but it was good to end the game on a positive note and see no one quit,” QB Mike Glennon said. “We had everyone on offense, and defense for that matter, but speaking for the offense though, we were obviously down a lot and could’ve just coasted to the next week, but everyone continued to fight for each other. It was good to finish a couple drives there with touchdowns at the end.”
Jake Fromm threw 78 touchdown passes and 18 interceptions in his three-year career at Georgia. In 43 starts, he went 36-7. He was not ready to play right away when the Giants signed him two weeks ago off the Bills’ practice squad and as he learned a new offense. He impressed his new teammates and he very likely could see his first NFL action vs. the Cowboys, if Glennon is not productive.
“He’s really soaking up all the information and he’s really vocal too,” TE Evan Engram said of Fromm. “He’s asking questions, he’s been a big help on the sideline relaying information from the quarterback to the receivers, tight ends.” I know he’s been learning himself but he’s a vocal guy trying to make sure everyone else is on the same page, too, that’s probably one of the coolest things about him I’ve noticed since he’s been here.” He played at a high level in college. He definitely has talent and definitely has the resume to play in big games and big moments. I don’t think that will be an issue.”
The Giants’ depleted defensive backfield will have one of its key players, as safety Xavier McKinney was activated from the Reserve/COVID-19 list and will play. McKinney was away from the team all week as a high-risk close contact.
Other roster moves: CB Jarren Williams, WR Alex Bachman and newly signed LB Jaylon Smith were all activated from the practice squad as COVID-19 replacements. CB Sam Beal, cut earlier this season, was re-signed to the practice squad.
The Cowboys are not hit hard by COVID-19 positive tests. They will be down two reserve defensive tackles, as Osa Odighizuwa and Trysten Hill were put on Reserve/COVID-19 and did not travel with the team.
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