Broncos should be regretting not making this move in the draft

If the NFL held its voting for Defensive Rookie of the Year right now, Micah Parsons would win the award and he would do so easily.

Micah Parsons has been an absolute beast for the Dallas Cowboys, who selected him with the No. 12 overall pick in this year’s draft. But before the Cowboys had the chance to pick him, the Denver Broncos came on the clock with the No. 9 overall pick.

If there was a drum I beat repeatedly heading into the draft, it was that the Broncos should draft Parsons with that pick. No questions asked.

Of course, the Broncos instead chose to use that pick on Patrick Surtain, despite signing two cornerbacks as free agents during the offseason. This is not to say that Surtain was a bad pick because that has worked out well to a certain extent, but Parsons is proving to be a player the team just should not have passed on.

Many fans are still flabbergasted that the team passed on a quarterback like Justin Fields, but there is almost no doubt at this point that they should have selected Parsons.

Parsons has had a fantastic season thus far for the Cowboys, a team that was completely awful on defense last season. During the Thanksgiving Day game against the Las Vegas Raiders, he recorded his ninth sack, setting a rookie single-season record for the Cowboys, breaking the mark previously held by DeMarcus Ware.

Earlier in the year, he became the first rookie to have at least 60 tackles and eight sacks in a season since Terrell Suggs in 2003.

He still has six games to add to those numbers.

Dallas has maximized Parsons’ potential, using him all over the field and at several different positions. Some could argue that he may not have had similar success in Denver but Vic Fangio would be able to do the same things with him that Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn has done.

Micah Parsons would have been just as good in Denver as he has been in Dallas

The Broncos have suffered injuries to key defensive players such as Bradley Chubb, Alexander Johnson and Josey Jewell. Parsons could have stepped up and filled in for any of those guys, though at this stage in their respective careers, Parsons is better than all of them.

Parsons was already having a great rookie season, but the performance he put on display for a national audience on Thanksgiving, which by the way was the most-watched regular-season NFL game since 1990, let the football world know just how good he is.

Hindsight is always 20/20, but it was not a stretch to say that the Broncos should have drafted Parsons back in April. The team got the player it wanted in Surtain.

But it could have got the guy who is going to be the Defensive Rookie of the Year and certainly could have been in Denver as well. He also has the talent to be the best defensive player in all of football.

Yes, you read that correctly.