Getty Nick Bosa celebrating for the San Francisco 49ers.
When the San Francisco 49ers selected Nick Bosa with the second overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft, the franchise surely thought they landed a game-changing player, but as his fourth year comes to an end, it’s hard to imagine just how impactful the Ohio State product has been. Picking up a pair of sacks against Washington to bring his sack streak to two, Bosa’s efforts were so impressive that George Kittle, a player he has to spar with on occasion in practice, boldly declared to reporters post-game that the Defensive MVP race is now officially over.
“I think today secured his defensive MVP,” Kittle said. “I don’t know how it doesn’t. If you look at what he does every Sunday compared to everyone else around the league whether it’s offense or defense, I don’t know why he’s not in the MVP conversation, too … Every single day he’s just an absolute monster. All the sacks, they’re earned and deserved. He’s fantastic. He’s never not good.”
Appearing in all but one of the team’s games through the first 16 weeks of the season, Bosa has already amassed 17.5 sacks over just 661 defensive snaps and is only two sacks away from tying the Niners’ all-time sack record at 19.5. Considering he’s averaging 1.25 sacks per game, Bosa is on pace for the first 20-sack season in franchise history.
Brock Purdy Details How Bosa Helped Him to Improve in Practice
Asked about playing against Bosa every day in practice as the 49ers’ scout team quarterback, Brock Purdy complemented his defensive foil and expressed how his efforts sharpened his iron multiple times per week.
“Honestly, it was frustrating at times, just, like, dropping back and seeing Nick right in my face and having to make a move almost every play, but honestly it did help, like in terms of keeping my eyes down the field, there’s a pass rush coming, there’s guys swiping for the ball, Nick is breathing down my neck almost every play, so it definitely did help. It helped with my pocket presence and awareness and things like that, so, and then obviously you get to a defense like today with a great front and that kind of stuff, it’s just real, like, the pass rush, you know, climbing the pocket, all that kind of stuff, so big credit to all the guys I practiced leading up to this point.”
As Fred Warner pointed out earlier this season, Purdy was afforded an opportunity to face off against the best defense in the NFL for the entire season in practice, and that effort has clearly paid off in terms of his preparation, as even Bosa was incredibly complimentary of his rookie quarterback.
Nick Bosa Appreciates the San Francisco 49ers’ Rookie Quarterback
Taking the podium after Purdy, Bosa was asked about his experience facing off against the Iowa State quarterback when he was running scout team. Bosa, though far from a prolific talker, did have some nice things to say about Purdy.
“You can’t really pester quarterbacks in practice, but I’m super impressed with just how he’s matured so quickly and I think it helps that he started four years in college and I think for a rookie to come in and just have that command and everybody’s got his back obviously.”
Kyle Shanahan has complemented Purdy’s maturity on multiple occasions so far this season, too, with the sixth-year head coach famously declaring that the Iowa State product is the “most poised rookie I’ve ever had” during his post-game media session after the team’s win over the Seattle Seahawks. After facing off against him on multiple occasions during practice, it’s clear Bosa is a fan too.