All 49ers

PFF: 49ers DE Nick Bosa is NFL's Fourth-Best Edge Defender

Nick Bosa had a down season by his standards in 2024.
Grant Cohn|
Nov 17, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa (97) waits on the sidelines against the Seattle Seahawks in the third quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images
Nov 17, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa (97) waits on the sidelines against the Seattle Seahawks in the third quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images | David Gonzales-Imagn Images

In this story:

San Francisco 49ers

Nick Bosa had a down season by his standards in 2024.

He recorded just 9.5 sacks -- his lowest total for a season in which he played more than two games since he was a rookie. And yet, Pro Football Focus still ranks him as the NFL's fourth-best edge defender heading into the 2025 season.

"Bosa’s 89.3 PFF pass-rush grade was his lowest since his rookie season in 2019 — a testament to how dominant he has been through the first six years of his career," writes PFF's Ryan Smith. "However, he still finished tied for third in pass-rush win rate (20.0%) and ranked fifth in total pressures (69)."

Bosa's problem in 2024 was finishing plays. He still won his one-on-one matchups at a high rate and generated lots of pressure, but he often whiffed when he had an opportunity to sack the quarterback. That's because quarterbacks are becoming quicker and more nimble every year while Bosa tends to lose his balance if he has to change directions.

For an elite professional athlete, Bosa spends a lot of time on the ground. That's why he often struggles against teams with mobile quarterbacks. Unfortunately for Bosa, more and more teams have mobile quarterbacks these days.

That's why the 49ers drafted Mykel Williams. He's a good pass rusher, but he's great at containing quarterbacks in the pocket, something Bosa does not do well. Bosa often opens scramble lanes for quarterbacks and those scrambles hurt the defense in critical situations.

Which means Bosa is a bit overrated. I wouldn't rank him among the NFL's top 5 edge defenders anymore.

Read more

Published
Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

Share on XFollow grantcohn
Home/News