Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons opted out of playing in the 2020 season, so NFL scouts didn’t have a chance to watch him do anything on the field until the school’s Pro Day workout on Thursday.
Parsons made the most of the chance to work out. He ran a 4.39 40-yard dash, which would have put him with Isaiah Simmons and Shaquem Griffin as the only linebackers to go under 4.4 if he’d done it at the Combine.
Simmons went eighth overall last year with his speed and versatility touted as reasons he was so highly regarded. Parsons showed the speed and then made his case on the versatility front.
“I just feel like I’m the most versatile player in this class,” Parsons said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “I can play middle linebacker, I can play outside and I can pass rush. I don’t think there’s no place I can’t play in the linebacker spot.”
Parsons said he’s spoken to teams who think he can go “sideline to sideline” on the first two downs before rushing the passer on third down. Whether that leads to him going as early as Simmons is something we’ll find out next month.