For a majority of the college football season, Nick Bosa was viewed as the number one NFL Draft pick. Will the former Big Ten standout go that early?
How rare is it for two brothers to be top 5 picks in the NFL? It hasn’t happened since Eli and Payton Manning, and they were both quarterbacks! Joey Bosa has been a dynamic force on the Chargers defensive line and it won’t be a surprise to see his brother Nick doing the same thing in the league.
Nick Bosa was one of the best players in college football in 2017, posting 34 tackles with 8.5 sacks. The Buckeyes defense came into 2018 with aspirations of a national championship run, but the defense got off to a slow start and Bosa was injured in the Buckeyes win against TCU. He opted not to return to school for the final few weeks of the season.
With Kyler Murray looking like the number one overall pick, let’s take a look at Bosa’s scouting report and determine where he will land on draft night.
Strengths
Bosa’s biggest strength is his ability to rush the passer. He finished his career with 17.5 sacks and wreaked havoc against opposing offensive lineman. He ran a 4.79 40 yard dash at the NFL combine and showed excellent strength with 29 bench press reps at 225 pounds.
He has an excellent first move to blow past the offensive lineman, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he develops a spin move at Dwight Freeney‘s level once he works with D-line coaches in the league.
Weaknesses
Nick Bosa struggles at times to stop the run, and even though he made a few games early in the season, the Ohio State defense was gashed on the ground against Oregon State and TCU. This isn’t completely Bosa’s fault, but you would expect teams to run away from him because of his physical dominance, instead, they were running right at him to expose a hole in the Buckeyes unit.
The other major concern is his long-term health. The injury mentioned earlier may alarm some teams, and he will need to prove he can stay healthy at the next level. He performed well at the combine and didn’t take part in drills at the Ohio State Pro Day, so teams may be anxious to see him in private workouts.
Draft Projection: No. 2 overall
Even with the injury concern, Bosa is still the best player in the entire draft class. It helps that San Francisco has their QB of the future in Jimmy Garoppolo, and the Niners asking price may be too high for any teams looking to trade up.
San Francisco will get one of the best defensive prospects we have seen in a long time, and they could be looking at an edge rusher with an All-Pro ceiling when his career is all said and done.