49ers roster: Predicting 6 players who make the Pro Bowl in 2021

No. 4: EDGE Nick Bosa

There’s essentially only one thing potentially holding third-year EDGE Nick Bosa back from being a Pro Bowler at the end of this season, and it’s his recovery from a season-ending ACL tear he suffered early in 2021.

Let’s face it: Bosa was already a Pro Bowl star his rookie season, earning Defensive Rookie of the Year honors, and it wouldn’t be out of the question for Bosa to be in the running for the 2021 Comeback Player of the Year and, quite potentially, the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year this season, too.

Bosa, whose nine sacks and 25 quarterback hits back in 2019 helped earn him the accolades, won’t have it easy, though.

Aside from his recovery concerns, other teams are going to be fully aware he’s the most potent member of San Francisco’s defensive front, and those teams will adjust accordingly. For Bosa to make the Pro Bowl for the second time in his career, he’ll need to get some contributing help from his 49ers D-line teammates, namely players like Javon Kinlaw, Arik Armstead and Samson Ebukam, to ensure the sack totals pile up.

And Bosa might have to eclipse his 2019 numbers, too, if he wants to have a shot at besting some of the other top-rated pass-rushers within the NFC this season.