49ers top 5 players on roster under 25 years old
By Peter Panacy
No. 2: 49ers EDGE Nick Bosa
Based on pure talent and potential game impact alone, third-year EDGE Nick Bosa could easily be ranked No. 1 on this list of top Niners players under 25 years of age.
He would be, save for the fact he missed almost the entirety of 2020 with a torn ACL, and him being absent for nearly half of his pro career has to factor into the mix somehow.
That said, the 2019 Defensive Rookie of the Year is on track to become one of the game’s biggest defensive impact players, already having shown his pass-rushing prowess with nine sacks and 25 quarterback hits his rookie year, suggesting year three of his pro-level efforts could result in first-team All-Pro form.
Again, all the reasons why San Francisco used the No. 2 overall pick from the 2019 draft on him.
Granted, Bosa returning from a serious knee injury won’t be easy, and it can take another full year after recovery to get the proverbial “football legs” back working at 100 percent. Yet few would argue a Bosa-type player playing at 75 percent capacity would be a liability, and there’s a tremendous chance he reasserts himself into Pro Bowl discussion after missing so much time last season.
Good thing Bosa, who’ll turn 24 years old in the middle of this season, will be a cornerstone for the 49ers defense for a long, long time.