Cowboys’ Micah Parsons told Jerry Jones exactly what the Dallas defense needs

When asked for his opinion, Micah Parsons will never hold back.

The Cowboys linebacker certainly didn’t hold back in Indianapolis this weekend at the NBA All-Star Game. First, he sent America’s No. 1 Cowboys hater Stephen A. Smith to the hospital for X-rays after Smith took a spill during some one-on-one with Parsons during shooting practice. Then during Friday night’s All-Star Celebrity Game, Parsons dropped 37 points and added 16 boards and four steals to win MVP honors in a win over Smith’s team.

In between, the two chatted about how the Cowboys’ 2023 season ended and how things might be different come 2024.

And oh yes, Parsons had thoughts.

During a wide-ranging interview for The Stephen A. Smith Show, Parsons explained he was “excited” about the “fresh start” that new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer will bring, he offered his perspective on teammate Demarcus Lawrence’s recent comments about the Cowboys being “burnt out” in their surprising playoff loss to Green Bay, and he stood up for Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott amid criticism from many (including Smith) despite his career-best season.

And he also shared exactly what he believes the Cowboys defense needs in order to take the next step forward.

But it wasn’t just Parsons spitballing on a podcast. It was a recap of an in-person conversation he had just had with none other than Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on the subject.

Parsons explained to Smith that he bumped into Jones at their Las Vegas hotel last weekend and was able to parlay that into several hours of quality face time with his boss at the biggest sporting event of the year.

“Jerry sent me four extra tickets to the Super Bowl suite,” Parsons shared. “And we just sat and talked, from before the game until the whole half, about players I want to bring in, players I want to be around, who do I need, who do I want to be with, the future of our team.”

According to Parsons, he held up the teams that advanced to the NFC and AFC championships as models to emulate.

“I told Jerry, ‘Look at every team that was in that final four.'”

Specifically, he looked at two key areas of the 49ers’, Lions’, Ravens’, and Chiefs’ defenses.

“A great linebacker corps, right?” Parsons pointed out. “We need to get another bigger linebacker who’s going to come downhill. We need to get a super, 300-[pound], nasty interior [defensive lineman]. Look at how [the 49ers’] Arik Armstead and Javon Hargrave caused havoc in the last two games. Look at how Alim McNeill in Detroit in their front, with [Aiden] Hutchinson and all of them. It’s just certain things I was pinpointing. We can build in this, because we’re slim. … Because I saw the way [Kansas City DT] Chris Jones affected that Super Bowl, and I was like, ‘My God.'”

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The Cowboys likely thought they were set at both positions Parsons mentioned heading into the 2023 season. A preseason injury to rookie DeMarvion Overshown thinned the linebacker room early, and the loss of Leighton Vander Esch after just five games forced the team to go into emergency mode with smaller, lighter defensive backs moonlighting at the mid-level.

As for the interior D-line, first-round draft pick Mazi Smith was expected to be the kind of immovable object Parsons alluded to. But the 337-pounder reportedly lost a lot of weight over the course of the season and never made much of an impact in his first pro season. Veteran Johnathan Hankins played well, but missed a few key games late in the year due to injury.

Linebacker and defensive tackle are indeed expected to be areas that the team addresses this offseason, either through free agency or the draft. Zimmer will no doubt have heavy input on exactly how the Cowboys do that.

And should he need a sounding board, Parsons will be more than happy to throw in his two cents.

Story originally appeared on Cowboys Wire