49ers vs. Jets: Williams or Bosa? It’s not a difficult question in hindsight
Sometimes teams don’t tell the entire truth leading into the NFL Draft. Spring is often misinformation season in the NFL where teams keep their wants and needs a great big secret.
Leading into the 2019 draft, it was clear what the 49ers needed. They had to improve their pass defense, and one avenue was early in the draft with another defensive lineman, despite having DeForest Buckner, Arik Armstead, Solomon Thomas and the recently acquired Dee Ford already on the roster. One more piece could put the unit over the top.
That proved to be true. The 49ers, who were fortunate enough to have the No. 2 overall pick, selected Nick Bosa out of Ohio State. But beforehand, there was the belief the eventual NFC Champions were choosing between Bosa and Alabama’s star defensive tackle Quinnen Williams.
“Just because he’s an excellent football player,” general manager John Lynch said before the draft. “The season he had may have been as good of a college football season that I’ve ever seen. He was just dominant.”
Williams was considered by some a safer pick than Bosa, who only played three games in his final season with the Buckeyes due to a core muscle injury. Williams’ on-field production for the Alabama Crimson Tide was on another level. He was arguably the best player on a defense that made it all the way to the national championship game played, oddly enough, in Levi’s Stadium.
In 15 games that season, Williams had eight sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss. Bosa was productive in his three contests — four sacks and six tackles for loss — but the injury question marks persisted and some wondered about whether he did enough in college to warrant a team investing a top-five draft pick.
The benefit of hindsight proves San Francisco made the right decision, of course. Bosa was the choice at No. 2 and Williams went third to the New York Jets. The two will be on the same field for the first time since the draft when the Jets and 49ers play Sunday at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands.
Their first seasons as pros were entirely different stories then their final campaigns in college. In fact, they might have been the exact opposite.
Bosa fought off the questions about his durability to appear in every game for the 49ers and won Defensive Rookie of the Year. Williams missed three games for New York and had three sacks and 19 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. The scouting service said Bosa was one of the best defensive rookies ever tracked, crediting him with 102 pressures and 14 sacks when including his three playoff games.
And suddenly, given what we know about the two players as pros, the choice between Bosa and Williams was far more clear than the team let on. So much for that misinformation campaign.
“Coming out of college, Quinnen was an unbelievable football player,” 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said Thursday. “I still think the sky’s the limit for him, but for us it was Bosa or bust, to be honest with you.
“I don’t know if there was much indecision. I think the entire organization was on the same page with that one.”
To be fair, the two play different positions. Defensive tackle can be a more difficult transition than defensive end. A defensive tackle could be blocked by three different offensive linemen on any play, while a defensive end generally gets one-on-one matchups on the outside with space to operate.
Current 49ers rookie Javon Kinlaw, who likely wouldn’t be with San Francisco if the team had taken Williams to take over for DeForest Buckner, faces a noticeably steeper learning curve than Bosa, who was able to enter the league and play with a similar style as he did in college. Kinlaw is still learning how to operate in tight quarters against NFL offensive linemen that he can’t bully like he did in college..
“Obviously, hindsight is 20-20 but Nick at number two is a no-brainer. And Quinnen was a no brainer,” said 49ers tackle Trent Williams, who has practiced against Bosa extensively over the last month. “At that point, it was just kind of what you prefer as a team, as a coaching staff and as an organization.
“Obviously, I don’t think you could have gone wrong with either player. I do feel Nick has turned into one of the best at his position. Quinnen has that same ability. So we expect him to be disruptive on Sunday and we expect to try to contain him. Both of those guys are saturated with talent and I don’t think you could have went wrong either way.”
Bosa on Thursday was asked about Saleh’s “Bosa or bust” comment and mentioned how appreciate he is of his landing spot.
“I’m just really happy that I ended up here and I’m glad they felt confident enough to pick me,” Bosa said. “I’m sure (Williams) is going to get the hang of it here pretty soon, because he’s super talented. He’s got everything he needs. I mean, (we’re) two good players, and I’m happy I got picked one above him.”
Sounds like the 49ers are too.
