Giants' Saquon Barkley: Cowboys' Micah Parsons 'playing like the best player in the league'

ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith recently raised eyebrows when he said during an on-air segment that Dallas Cowboys star linebacker and 2021 Defensive Rookie of the Year Micah Parsons "is the second coming of" New York Giants legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor. 

Current Giants running back Saquon Barkley didn't go that far during comments made on Thursday but nevertheless offered high praise for the fellow former Penn State Nittany Lion who happens to be a close buddy ahead of the upcoming "Monday Night Football" matchup between the NFC East foes. 

"Me and Micah, we're pretty good friends," Barkley explained, per Garrett Stepien of SNY. "Obviously, I respect the heck out of him. He's a heck of a player. One of the best players in the league, if not (the best) — right now, you can make an argument playing like the best player in the league.

"He's very talented, but we have our little fun when we hang out. We're two competitive individuals, so we might get into something whether it's cards or anything. Like I said, nothing but respect for him and wish him the best of luck coming up."

As noted by ESPN stats, Barkley began Thursday leading the entire NFL with 236 rushing yards this season featuring for a Giants team that has surprised many by beginning the campaign with two consecutive wins. Parsons, meanwhile, shared the league lead with four sacks across two games at that same time. 

"They're a great team, they're the Dallas Cowboys," Barkley added about Monday's opposition that sits at 1-1 on the young season. "Especially when you got a guy like Micah, you want to compete with a guy like that. You know how talented he is, you know how special of a player he is, so you always want to go against the best as a competitor.

"And I look forward to going against not only him but all those guys over there. We know it's going to be a tough task, but we got to continue to love the process and stick with each other."

Barkley and company may need veteran wide receiver and 2021 free-agent acquisition Kenny Golladay to have a breakout day to get past a Dallas team that will be starting backup quarterback Cooper Rush as Dak Prescott continues his recovery from a thumb injury. 

As for the previously mentioned Taylor, he's expected to be at MetLife Stadium for Monday's encounter.