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By Matthew Couden
Contributing Writer
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Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys made a splash in the first round of the NFL Draft, adding Ohio State safety Caleb Downs with the No. 11 pick and following with UCF edge Malachi Lawrence at No. 23 overall.
Those moves addressed a struggling Dallas defense, which parted ways with Micah Parsons last season, trading him to the Green Bay Packers. Parsons went on to achieve another Pro Bowl-worthy season with his new team, but suffered an unfortunate season-ending torn ACL injury in his left knee in Week 15.
Parsons, who is still rehabbing from the injury, appeared on Bleacher Report's B/R Gridiron draft-night coverage, which also featured New York Giants receiver Malik Nabers and TV's Adam Lefkoe as host.
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The two NFL stars gave their instant reactions after seeing the picks in real time, and Parsons had some things to say about Downs going to the Cowboys.
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"Michael Irvin told me this. You don't wish upon a star, you land on that [expletive]," Parsons said after Lefkoe asked how he felt about Downs joining Dallas.
"As big as it is, just take it all in, but just know that you're under the biggest microscope," he said regarding playing for the Cowboys.
"It's time to put everything that we believe in you, on to the field," he said about Downs.
Nabers had his head resting in his hand and gave a side-eye to Parsons as he was talking, with Parsons claiming, "Malik's having nightmares already."
That's because earlier, Nabers questioned the Giants' decision to take Arvell Reese with the fifth pick, indicating he would've preferred they get Downs at that spot. He also admitted later that he wanted Downs as a Giants teammate, not to have to face him as an opponent.
However, Reese, an Ohio State talent with tremendous upside, fell to No. 5 after the New York Jets passed on him, taking Texas Tech's David Bailey as their No. 2 pick. That allowed New York to scoop up Reese.
Meanwhile, Downs, also a tremendous talent from Ohio State, is joining the Cowboys, a team that Parsons demanded trade him after stating he no longer wanted to play in Dallas. That also followed his claims that the Cowboys held him to behind-closed-door negotiations without his agent and delivered specific narratives to the media about him.
And even despite that potential bad blood behind the scenes, Parsons didn't hesitate to share helpful advice with Downs when B/R Gridiron spoke to him about getting selected by the Cowboys.
"Being a first-round pick is a pressure of its own, but that pressure's a privilege. And because you were a starter, it's even higher expectations. Higher media, higher outside noise. Eliminate it," he told Downs.
"Remember this, they're not drafting you to be a player, they're drafting you to be the player that you already are to come into that system and dominate," Parsons also told him.
He indicated that Downs is "the guy" when it comes to his role as a starter on defense with his professional team.
"As I said earlier in the draft, you don't wish upon a star; you land on it. So good luck, brother," he said regarding Downs joining the Cowboys.
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