We all knew going into the season that Micah Parsons was one of, if not the league's best edge rushers.

He is one of the defensive players that is so impactful, that your offense has to game plan around him. They have to keep track of where he is at all times. 

Or else he will ruin your day.

The Cowboys knew opposing offensive lines had had trouble with his speed, power, suddenness, and basically his entire game.

Recently, they have started moving him around on the defensive line more. 

They have started deploying him in looks over the center in addition to giving him plenty of reps at the edge. Now why is this significant?

If a player is lined up over an offensive tackle there will be more space between them. Thus it will take longer for them to make contact so the offensive tackle has more time to prepare for the rush.

The further inside you go on the offensive line, the less space there is between the offensive linemen and the defensive linemen.

Specifically with the center, they have to snap the ball get their feet set, and get their hands up in a split second as the defender is going to be on them right away. 

This can be quite the challenge for the center if you have someone like Micah Parsons lined up across from you. Just ask the Carolina Panthers, who in Week 11 allowed three sack plays from Parsons, all of which came through the A-gap (between the center and guard).

The Cowboys have recognized this, and they have started to take advantage of it by sending Micah Parsons on more rushes where he is matched up against interior offensive linemen.

Typically you want your big guys to match up against their big guys. 

That is what happens in the interior.

The Cowboys are starting to dabble in changing the narrative by saying if your big guy, can't get to my fast guy in time, what are you going to do?

Last year Micah Parsons took most of his snaps at edge for the Cowboys, 767 of his 953 snaps in all 18 regular season weeks came from the edge. That's good for 80% of his snap count. This year 155 of his 499 snaps have come from a true edge spot, which represents only 31%! 

Now, he is being deployed all over the defensive line and LB box, and it's paying dividends. 

Parsons' pressure win percentage at the end of last year's regular season was 19.5%, with a pressure percentage of 19.3%. This year his win percentage has gone up to 24.2% while his pressure percentage has gone up to 22.2%. Both are second in the NFL (minimum 100 pass-rushing snaps). That's a significant jump.

And a jump that in good part is likely owed to the Cowboys getting creative on how they deploy him. It's a risky strategy, but one that just might be fruitful if you have a guy like Micah Parsons on your team. 

Cowboys: Micah Parsons chases obscure but important NFL record

An impressive feat.