Cowboys' Micah Parsons claims teammate deserves MVP consideration

"Honestly, [conrerback DaRon Bland] needs to be in that MVP conversation. Like, I think this is beyond DPOY," he said on a recent episode of "The Edge with Micah Parsons." "He should be in a lot of conversations, he should be waking up people, and that's point blank, period."

Bland winning MVP is far-fetched, as no cornerback has won the award. Only two defensive players — Hall of Famers Alan Page (1971) and Lawrence Taylor (1986) — have won MVP, per Pro Football Reference.

The second-year cornerback's play merits DPOY buzz, though. The 24-year-old is tied for the league lead in interceptions (six) and has four pick-sixes, tied for the most in a season.

As of Tuesday, oddschecker doesn't list Bland in its top 20 DPOY odds. Typically, an elite pass-rusher earns the award. Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, the league leader in sacks (13), is the favorite (+110).

However, Parsons — who has the second-best DPOY odds (+250) — argues the honor should be based on impact, not position.

"And this is kind of where I get kind of mad at the league because it makes it so hard, like, we don't really give the awards to the best player," Parsons said. "We just give it to the best category. So, like, DPOY is always gonna go to a pass-rusher, most times unless someone has an insane year."

Regardless, Bland stepped up after cornerback Trevon Diggs suffered a season-ending ACL tear in September, and he's developed into a star. Pro Football Focus gave him a 91.1 grade through nine games, the best at his position.