Niner Noise
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Ranking 49ers 5 best NFL Draft picks by John Lynch, Kyle Shanahan

By Robert Morrison

Head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers and general manager John Lynch (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers and general manager John Lynch (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Nick Bosa, 49ers
Nick Bosa #97 San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images) /

No. 2: EDGE Nick Bosa

The only reason the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft didn’t get to be No. 1 this time is mostly because of how obvious a choice he was.

After the Cardinals decided to take former Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray with the first overall pick, there was only one direction for the 49ers to go with the selection. And so Nick Bosa, the former Ohio State Buckeye and brother of Los Angeles Chargers EDGE Joey Bosa, became a Niner and immediately helped the change the fortunes of the organization.

The pass-rusher was named the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year and joined the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Josh Allen, the New York Giants’ Dexter Lawrence and the Buffalo Bills’ Ed Oliver on the defensive line for the PFWA’s NFL All-Rookie Team.

On top of that, he led all rookies in pressures per Pro Football Focus, and his 80 was tied for sixth, with the Rams’ Aaron Donald, for pressures among all players in the NFL. They were also the most ever by a rookie since PFF began grading in 2006. Bosa was also graded as the 28th best player in the league in 2019, according to the site.

The scary part is he did this while facing a massive number of double teams and still winning at an impressive rate. And he’s only a rookie and won’t even be 23 years old until the middle of next season, so his opportunity to grow still exists.

If he does so, and improves upon his 47 tackle, nine sack, 80 pressure and overall disruptive performance as a rookie, I truly feel bad for the rest of the NFL.

(But not really).