Green Bay Packers Star Micah Parsons Ranked 6th-Best Defensive Player in NFL

NFL scouts for Bleacher Report rank Green Bay Packers star Micah Parsons as the sixth-best defensive player in the league.   

Parsons is one spot ahead of teammate Xavier McKinney and one spot behind Derwin James of the Los Angeles Chargers. 

"Parsons is undoubtedly an elite pass-rusher and has been since Day 1 of his professional career," Bleacher Report wrote. "He's arguably the NFL's best at working the edges, possessing the quickness and change-of-direction skills to consistently beat offensive tackles across their faces. The four-time All-Pro also presents a handful of change-ups, a relentless motor and the ability to win from multiple alignments. Those traits make Parsons one of the league's most disruptive players.

"However, he does leave something to be desired against the run. Most of the plays he makes occur when unblocked, via clean-ups and against tight ends, while infrequently beating offensive linemen. As a result, Parsons' ranking may be slightly lower than expected. He's still in excellent company, though."

Parsons had a stellar first season with the Packers. He finished with 12.5 sacks, 19 solo tackles, 12 tackles for loss and 27 QB hits in 14 games. 

One of the best players in the league, Parsons made the Pro Bowl last season despite tearing his ACL against the Denver Broncos. The Penn State product has made the Pro Bowl every season of his NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys and Packers. 

Parsons also underwent a meniscus procedure. The stud defender got hurt in Week 15 on December 14, but surgery took place on December 29. A nine-month recovery timeline means we should not expect to see Parsons on the field before September 29.

Once Parsons is cleared by doctors to play next season, expect him to go nuclear on opposing QBs again.

Parsons told reporters on Tuesday (8/4) that he may play against the Cowboys in Week 6.  

"I think it's very realistic," Parsons said Tuesday. "I wouldn't say it's not possible, but, at the same time, in these next 10 weeks -- 10, 12 weeks from now on -- we've got to do our part to make it possible. It's not off the board, but we've got to put the work in."

Green Bay didn't win a game after Parsons tore his ACL in Denver. The Chicago Bears beat the Packers in the wild-card round of the 2025 playoffs. 

"I think based off of how I feel at this point, I feel like a much better player in the sense of how I feel," Parsons said. "I feel more stable. I feel stronger. I probably was blind to a lot of things that I probably should have been working on that I got a chance to correct and get stronger during this process.

"For the longevity of my career ... it's almost like baseball. I talked to a baseball guy. He's like, 'We want a pitcher that kind of go through the Tommy John because it's like he got it out the way,' you know? So hopefully I got my injury out the way, and I can, based off what others try to say, give me another six to 10 years. So I'm really excited about that."