NFL Draft: 4 players 49ers regret passing up for Trey Lance
By Peter Panacy
Linebacker. Dallas Cowboys. Micah Parsons. 2. player. 123.
49ers Missed Player No. 2: Linebacker Micah Parsons, Cowboys
The 2021 NFL Draft wasn’t exactly chock full of edge rushers with can’t-miss pedigrees, and nearly every one of them carried some sort of notable concern.
On top of that, Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons isn’t a typical edge defender in a 4-3 defensive alignment anyway, and the fact the Niners already had two quality linebackers in Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw meant Parsons, currently playing as a weakside (WILL) linebacker for Dallas after being selected at No. 12 overall, would have been something of an excess pick.
But the 6-foot-3, 245-pound Parsons has proven to be far more than just a playmaker in space, even though he currently ranks second on the Cowboys defense with 62 tackles ahead of Week 12.
Read More: What Trey Lance must do to justify 49ers draft investment
Few players excel at being a proverbial “jack of all trades,” but Parsons is. And his pass-rushing prowess certainly can’t be overlooked, as he entered Week 12 with a whopping eight sacks on the year.
San Francisco already has 10 sacks from its leading pass-rusher, Nick Bosa, this season. But no one else on the roster has more than three.
Surely enough, the 49ers would have been able to figure out a way to use Parsons, who is a shoo-in towards becoming the 2021 Defensive Rookie of the Year.