Burning 49ers questions: Can Nick Bosa emerge as NFL’s top defensive player in 2020?
Nick Bosa was a transformative figure for the 49ers defense as a rookie. Based on NFL Defensive Player of the Year odds this offseason, he could be significantly better in his second season, if the 2020 campaign happens as planned.
A look around betting websites proves the oddsmakers are in on Bosa’s chances at becoming the most distinguished defensive player of the upcoming season. He’s most often lumped behind the Los Angeles Rams’ Aaron Donald, a two-time winner of the award in 2017 and 2018, and with some combination of the Chicago Bears’ Khalil Mack and the Houston Texans’ T.J. Watt. Bosa is commonly second or third in odds for the award.
The analytics are behind Bosa as well. Scouting service Pro Football Focus said his 80 pressures were the most ever recorded by a rookie since the company started in 2006. He was also PFF’s second-highest-graded NFL edge defender, a nod to his refinement and polish mentioned by longtime tackle Joe Staley as soon as the two began practicing against one another last summer.
Perhaps the most unexpected development from Bosa’s rookie season was his durability. He appeared in all 16 games after playing in just three during his final season at Ohio State because of a core muscle injury leading to questions about how he’ll hold up physically. He also strained a hamstring during June OTAs before a high ankle sprain early in training camp prevented him from appearing in the preseason.
All those factors offered plenty of reasons to be concerned. But Bosa eschewed those by becoming one of San Francisco’s most feared players as soon as he stepped on the field and finishing fifth on the defense with 777 snaps played. Bosa’s talent oozed off the practice field early in training camp when he was going against Staley and winning, often, during full team drills.
During the regular season he had nine sacks, 47 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and 25 quarterback hits. He added four sacks in the playoffs, including two in the NFC Divisional victory over the Minnesota Vikings. He was good enough to get consideration for Super Bowl MVP had his defense maintained its grip on Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City before things unraveled in the fourth quarter.
Setting high expectations for himself
Bosa had a season-high 12 pressures in Super Bowl LIV, according to PFF, with a strip sack of Mahomes in the third, and some thought he was held by his blocker on the key third-and-15 conversion from Mahomes to Tyreek Hill.
Bosa is spending the offseason in his home state of Florida training with his brother, Joey, a star with the Los Angeles Chargers, and has big plans for his second NFL season.
“My expectations are always high and I set my goals really high and I’ve been achieving them,” Bosa said. “So I’m going to just keep setting them high and just keep working my butt off. I know the work I’m putting in now is going to show up and I think I’m going to be a much smarter player next year and I’m just gonna know how to approach my opponents much better. I’m not going to waste rushes and make silly mistakes that I made last year and hopefully enhance my game.”
Bosa’s maturation is the biggest reason for Defensive Player of the Year-type optimism. But that’s not the only factor. Fellow edge rusher Dee Ford is expected to be healthier after playing just 22 percent of the snaps last season due to recurring tendinitis issues in his knee and quadriceps. He called the injury a “blown tire” while still managing 6.5 sacks and a 19.6 percent win rate, which would have ranked in the top 10 if he had the snaps to qualify, according to PFF.
Ford had corrective surgery after the Super Bowl and is far more optimistic about his health than last season, when the injury became problematic as early as training camp.
“I feel great right now,” Ford said in the spring. “I’m able to actually explode off of this knee. Thinking back on it, I can’t believe I played a whole season on it and we knew at the end of the day what we had to do.”
