Can Nick Bosa Challenge for the Defensive Player of the Year Award?
Nick Bosa was viewed as the best player in the 2019 NFL Draft, and that status has so far been vindicated in a terrific rookie season for the undefeated San Francisco 49ers.
After playing through a high ankle sprain, Bosa has been in devastating form since the Niners' Week four bye. The edge rusher's ability to generate pressure almost at will has been key to San Francisco's incredible defensive turnaround.
Bosa is now considered the front-runner for the Defensive Rookie of the Year award, but could he also challenge for Defensive Player of the Year?
It looks a tall order. The stat sheet is not fully reflective of the dominance Bosa has displayed, as the former Ohio State star has only four sacks to his name.
That tally is some way behind league leaders Shaquill Barrett and Myles Garrett, who each have nine, as well as Chandler Jones (8.5), Danielle Hunter (8) and Cameron Jordan and Preston Smith (both 7).
If Cleveland Browns star Garrett, and Jones, Hunter, Jordan and Smith – all of whom are playing for legitimate contenders – continue to perform at that level for teams in the hunt, then Bosa will have a hard time putting himself in the picture to contend the award.
He does have a path to doing so, however, and it lies in an increased conversion of his near-constant pressures. Bosa's four sacks have come on 31 pressures. According to Pro Football Focus, he is the most productive pass rusher in the NFL. Bosa ranks top of PFF's Pass Rush Productivity metric, which measures all pressures against opportunity to come up with a composite score.
Though the sheer depth of talent on the 49ers' defensive line means there will continue to be plenty of instances where teammates such as Dee Ford, DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead, will get to the quarterback before him. However, logic dictates that if he keeps pressuring opposing passers as regularly as he has this season, Bosa's total number of sacks at the end of the year will gaudy and comparable to the likes of Garrett and Jones.
It may only take a signature display for Bosa to catch up to those leading the league, and he already has one under his belt, having produced a devastating performance against the Browns in Week four. With his ability to translate speed to power and his incredibly refined hand usage, Bosa has the skill set to wreak havoc against any offensive line in the league.
His performances will carry extra weight down a difficult stretch run as the Niners eye a return to the postseason. Should Bosa finish near the top of the league in sacks by stringing some season-defining games together that help the 49ers punch their ticket to the playoffs, then he will be a near-lock for Defensive Rookie of the Year and firmly in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year.
