Micah Parsons
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Micah Parsons made a bold statement about $100 million new Washington Commanders edge-rusher Odafe Oweh.
Paying $100 million for Odafe Oweh in free agency to fix their problems rushing the passer will raise a few eyebrows around the NFL, but the Washington Commanders can take heart from an endorsement from one of the best edge-rushers in the game, Green Bay Packers stud Micah Parsons.
Parsons recently named Oweh among his picks for the most underrated edge defender in the pros. The five-time Pro Bowler, four-time All-Pro and 2021 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year responded to a question on ‘X’ by putting Oweh alongside Los Angeles Rams edge-rusher Jared Verse and Alex Highsmith of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Highsmith and Verse represent quality company for Oweh to keep, but Parsons’ bold statement should please the Commanders most. Especially since Parsons developed into one of the most-prolific game-wreckers in the league on the watch of Commanders head coach Dan Quinn.
The latter will now be tasked with justifying the considerable and risky investment general manager Adam Peters made to secure Oweh’s signature on Monday, March 9.
Odafe Oweh a Major Risk for Commanders
Cynics may put Parsons’ enthusiasm for Oweh’s game down to the pair being former teammates at Penn State, but there are more compelling reasons to view this move as a major risk.
Reasons like Oweh failing to live up to his status with the Baltimore Ravens as a former first-round draft pick. His career took a considerable upturn after being traded to the Los Angeles Chargers last October, but Oweh still only boasts one regular season campaign with double-digit sacks.
Peters is betting big on the Commanders getting the version of Oweh who was dominant for the Chargers. The overpowering edge who “generated the 6th-highest pressure rate in the NFL (17.3%, min. 200 pass rushes). Oweh led the Chargers in total pressures (37) and quick pressures (12) in that span” after the trade, per Next Gen Stats.
Oweh logged 7.5 sacks for the Bolts, then he added three more quarterback takedowns of Drake Maye against the New England Patriots in the playoffs. Including this strip-sack in the third quarter.
The Commanders paid a premium for plays like this and numbers that represent the outlier in Oweh’s production, but there’s a silver lining. It comes from the potential Oweh has to continue on his upward curve.
His upside is represented by what Commanding The Huddle host Ryan Fowler calls “a DEEP bag off the edge who consistently improved in 2025 as the year progressed. 26 pressures in his last six games combined last fall including three sacks in the Chargers’ WC loss at New England. Cross chop, inside spin, ghost… it’s all there.”
Ryan Fowler
Biggest thing with Odafe Oweh — he’s got a DEEP bag off the edge who consistently improved in 2025 as the year progressed.
26 pressures in his last six games combined last fall including three sacks in the Chargers’ WC loss at New England. Cross chop, inside spin, ghost… it’s
Oweh provides Quinn and new defensive coordinator Daronte Jones with the template for the kind of flexible game-wrecker they’re still missing up front.
Commanders Still Missing Micah Parsons-Type Edge
Quinn’s defense hasn’t worked in Washington because he hasn’t had a Parsons to define the front seven. That’s what Parsons did when Quinn was defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys and routinely moved his best pass-rusher across formations to isolate mismatches and wreck protection.
Replicating what Parsons can do isn’t easy, but the Commanders have been threadbare on the edges for too long. They relied on ageing Von Miller last season, but Jones’ new-look defense will need an every-down disruptor.
The Commanders resisted reuniting Jones with a favorite from his days with the Minnesota Vikings, and instead gambled by paying Oweh like he’s Parsons.