Nick Bosa has quickly put together career-highs in his comeback season from a devastating knee injury, parlaying into his second Pro Bowl nod in three seasons with the San Francisco 49ers.
But does his 15 sacks through 15 games in 2021 plus other accolades place him as the league’s best defensive end by NFL executives, scouts and coaches?
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In a Wednesday, December 29 ESPN article from Jeremy Fowler titled “NFL Big Risers at Every Position 2021,” the latest rankings were unveiled position-by-position.
Fowler pointed out who were on the rise in his conversations with the execs, scouts and head coaches he spoke with. Unfortunately, Bosa didn’t top the list. However, Bosa is labeled as someone who is “rising now.”
Bosa Called Top 5 Edge Rusher
Fowler first pointed out how talented the edge rusher group is for this season.
“This position aligns with the wide receiver pool: It is simply too loaded for just one top-10 list,” Fowler wrote.
And then, he dove into Bosa and the reasoning the 49er cracked the list.
“Bosa, for instance, is a 2021 riser after he fell to eighth (in the preseason ranking by ESPN) due to a torn ACL in 2020. He’s clearly a top-five pass-rusher after an explosive third year, featuring 45 quarterback pressures (tied for first with Myles Garrett).”
Bosa was ranked No. 8 by Fowler in the preseason edge rusher rankings. But now, he joins Brian Burns of the Carolina Panthers as the two edge defenders who are on the rise. Burns, who came into the league in the same 2019 draft class as Bosa, was described by one NFL personnel evaluator in the article as having “length, burst and explosion” and “still has untapped upside.”
Notable Season Accolades & How it Compares to Other Rushers
There’s only been four games this season when Bosa didn’t record a sack. That does include the Thursday, December 23 road loss to the Tennessee Titans. One notable highlight Bosa delivered that evening? Snuffing out this screen pass.
Nick Bosa reads screen & isn’t fooled! #49ers
But having that number of sack-less games really means this for Bosa: He has 11 games of 1-2 sacks. And he’s posted four games this season with two sacks.
In comparison to the NFC’s leader in that stat Robert Quinn of the Chicago Bears (17 sacks), Quinn has this tie with Bosa: Games of hitting multiple sacks.
Quinn, like Bosa, has produced four games of surpassing one sack. However, here’s the advantage the 31-year-old veteran Quinn has over Bosa in the sack category: The Bear has more games with a sack compared to the man known as @nbsmallerbear on Twitter.
Quinn has only one game when he didn’t put the quarterback on the ground with the ball in tow — the Halloween home loss against Bosa’s 49ers. Meanwhile, Bosa out-dueled him on the sacks end with two on his fellow Ohio State Buckeye Justin Fields.
Elsewhere, Bosa is behind by 2.5 sacks to the NFL leader T.J. Watt, who sits at 17.5 with two games left. But, the Pittsburgh Steeler is another who has four games of producing zero sacks, tying Bosa.
What Watt does have over Bosa is this accolade — the 27-year-old has two games that saw him reach 3 to 3.5 sacks. Bosa is yet to accomplish the hat trick for the category in a single game this season.
Nevertheless, Bosa has exceeded his comeback by putting together a memorable 2021 season. And now, the execs, scouts and opposing coaches have taken notice.
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Insider Labels 49ers DE Nick Bosa as Someone Who’s ‘Rising Now’