Dolphins: 3 prospects to avoid with sixth pick in 2021 NFL Draft
2. Micah Parsons, LB, Penn State
From an on-field perspective, there’s not a whole lot of argument to be made against taking Penn State linebacker. He’s a physical specimen. He flies all over the field and can make plays from sideline to sideline. And he’s still just learning the position. The ceiling on Parsons is about as high as any prospect in the 2021 NFL Draft. Some question whether or not he’s ready to come in and be a full-time middle linebacker right away, but that will come with time. And in the meantime, anyone taking Parsons is getting an athletic playmaker.
That said, it wouldn’t be the best allocation of resources for the Miami Dolphins to draft Parsons at 6. Miami already has former Ohio State product Jerome Baker playing at inside linebacker. They also just traded with the Houston Texans to acquire inside linebacker Benardrick McKinney. Drafting Parsons would be somewhat redundant. However, “good” should never get in the way of “great”. From a strictly on-field perspective, Parsons would likely be an upgrade.
The last year-plus has posed some significant challenges with regard to the NFL and how they go about the NFL Draft. In particular, the inability to meet prospects in person due to COVID-19 protocols makes it much harder to get a feel for the person behind the prospect. It makes sussing out character issues that much harder. And as we’ve seen time and time again, who the prospect is as a person matters as much to their success as who they are as an athlete and prospect.
Parsons has some significant red flags in his background when it comes to his off-field behavior. For some front offices, the fact that Parsons was one of the players who opted out of the 2020 season due to concerns about COVID-19 is going to be a red flag. Whether that’s a red flag for the Dolphins or not remains to be seen. What will be a red flag for the Dolphins — and likely any team picking in the top 10 — are Parson’s off-field issues.
Parsons was benched for the opening of the Nittany Lions’ 2019 matchup against Minnesota as a “behavior modification” issue. That’s relatively small in the grand scheme of things. What’s much more likely to give teams pause is Parson’s role in alleged sexual harassment while at Penn State.
Parsons, along with head coach James Franklin and several other players, was listed in a former Penn State player’s lawsuit against the school. The allegations are troubling to say the least, and without the benefit of being able to sit down with Parsons and talk about the incidents, they may be too much for some teams to forgive. Miami has a very recent history of taking chances on players with questionable off-field behavior and it not working out. It’s not a stretch to think Parsons may be off Miami’s draft board entirely in light of these allegations.