Eagles’ Lane Johnson: Cowboys’ Micah Parsons, Demarcus Lawrence are among NFL’s best

National Football League

Updated Jun. 29, 2023 3:26 p.m. ET

Suffice to say, Lane Johnson has a lot of respect for his divisional rivals in Dallas.

That’s the obvious takeaway from the most recent episode of The Richard Sherman Podcast, where Johnson appeared Tuesday. Over the course of the interview, Johnson was asked by Sherman to list the best pass rushers in the NFL, and Johnson named both Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence.

Objective and irrefutable rankings are impossible, but some still hold more weight than others. Coming from Johnson, a three-time All-Pro who is widely considered the best right tackle in the game, that certainly carries some weight.

Any praise for Parsons should be expected at this point. The 24-year-old has taken the league by storm, piling up 26.5 sacks in just two seasons and collecting two first-team All-Pro bids and an NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award along the way. Still, even Parsons has to fight against Johnson and Philadelphia’s vaunted offensive line. In three career games against the Eagles, he has 14 tackles and three pass deflections — but just half a sack and one quarterback hit for his efforts.

Maybe that shouldn’t be surprising, given that Johnson hasn’t allowed a sack since the 2020 season, and allowed just nine pressures last year. Lawrence’s inclusion on a list that includes Parsons, Myles Garrett, T.J. Watt and Maxx Crosby was a bit of an eyebrow-raiser, though.

[Cowboys positional group rankings: Defense leads the way; where are they weak?]

Not that it should be. Across nine NFL seasons, Lawrence has tallied 386 tackles, 113 quarterback hits and 54.5 sacks since the Cowboys traded up to draft him 34th overall in 2014. He’s been named second-team All-Pro once and gone to two Pro Bowls.

Even still, Lawrence doesn’t have the pure sack prowess of some of his counterparts, averaging just six sacks a year during his career — a number he hit exactly last season to finish third on the Cowboys’ roster. But in addition to that ability, Lawrence has earned a reputation as one of the game’s best edge run defenders, earning an overall grade of 80.4 from Pro Football Focus these last three years.

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Much like Parsons, Lawrence has had his hands full with the Eagles. Playing primarily at left end, Lawrence has spent a lot of his time going up against Johnson. In 16 career games against Philadelphia, he’s notched just three sacks, 10 tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hits.

Obviously, it’s not as if many pass rushers have consistent success against Johnson — even the best in the league. Still, it’s interesting to note the respect the All-Pro holds for his NFC East opposition.

David Helman covers the Dallas Cowboys for FOX Sports. He previously spent nine seasons covering the Cowboys for the team’s official website. In 2018, he won a regional Emmy for his role in producing “Dak Prescott: A Family Reunion” about the quarterback’s time at Mississippi State. Follow him on Twitter at @davidhelman_.

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