49ers roster: Why Nick Bosa puts in a monstrous 2022 campaign
By Peter Panacy
The 49ers should be expecting big things out of EDGE Nick Bosa in 2022, and there are plenty of reasons to believe it will happen.
There’s little that needs to be said about San Francisco 49ers fourth-year pro EDGE Nick Bosa, a two-time Pro Bowler who has done almost everything possible to properly live up to being the No. 2 overall NFL Draft pick from 2019.
Sure, Bosa’s missed 2020 campaign because of an ACL tear was an anomaly. We can’t exactly count that.
Instead, that lost year has been bookended by two tremendous seasons, his nine-sack rookie year and his 15.5 sack 2021 effort that should have produced an All-Pro selection but nevertheless resulted in Bosa’s second Pro Bowl in three years.
Not bad. It’s safe to say the Niners are reaping the rewards of that high-profile draft investment.
What’s notably special about Bosa’s 2021 season, however, is he was the clear-cut No. 1 pass-rushing force for a San Francisco defense that finished tied for fifth best with 48 sacks. Yet no other member of the 49ers defense came close to recording double-digit quarterback takedowns.
That can be taken in two different and potentially equal ways. For starters, it showcases Bosa’s prowess as an elite pass-rushing threat, yet it also suggests he needs some help.
| Game | Game | Def | Def | Def | Def | Fumb | Fumb | Fumb | Tack | Tack | Tack | Tack | Tack | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Tm | G | GS | Int | Yds | Lng | PD | FF | FR | Yds | Sk | Comb | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits |
| 2019* | 22 | SFO | 16 | 14 | 1 | 46 | 46 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 9.0 | 47 | 32 | 15 | 16 | 25 |
| 2020 | 23 | SFO | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | ||||||
| 2021* | 24 | SFO | 17 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 15.5 | 52 | 40 | 12 | 21 | 32 |
| Care | Care | 35 | 33 | 1 | 46 | 46 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 24.5 | 105 | 75 | 30 | 37 | 58 |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com
Generated 5/26/2022.
The Niners went about that during the offseason. And while the additions of more pass-rushers, both via free agency and the NFL Draft, could end up taking away from some of Bosa’s potential sacks, those moves could also make him all the more potent.
Let’s explore why in Niner Noise’s 2022 profile piece on the elite pass-rusher.