Early NFL Draft Scouting: Ohio State Buckeyes DE Joey Bosa
When you’re talking about some of the best pass rushers in all of college football, your discussion can’t begin or end without talking about Ohio State Buckeyes defensive end Joey Bosa, who is one of the returning leaders on a National Championship defense.
Boss had drawn mixed reviews as of the National Championship game last year, if I remember correctly from all the hot takes I read on Twitter, but I figured instead of just trying to remember what people had said about him, I’d see for myself why some are considering him a top 10 prospect going into next season.
Here’s some video of Bosa, some highlights, and some of my quick observations.
Observations
- Bosa is a big, strong dude. He’s listed at 6-5, 278, and he looks every bit of that on the field. I think there’s potential for him to grow even more into his frame, possibly to play at around 285-290 without losing his quickness.
- He’s really athletic, showing the ability to play laterally, explode upfield, and make plays downfield in pursuit.
- In his first two seasons at Ohio State, Bosa has recorded 99 tackles, 21 sacks, and 34.5 tackles for loss. He’s proven incredibly productive at a young age, and the ceiling is obviously very high.
- Bosa shows a strong ability to rush from both the outside and the inside. He has good bend around the edge and has a lot of power on his interior rush. At a young age, he already does a really good job of combining speed and power.
- Perhaps one of the most impressive aspects to Bosa’s game was his ability to redirect plays and keep such a strong base. There’s one play in the Wisconsin game where he sets an edge against a tight end, absorbs two chip blocks, and bursts through the line of scrimmage to make a play on Melvin Gordon, a Heisman Trophy candidate and first round NFL Draft pick. Not easy to do, but really an impressive play.
- I’ve seen the comparisons to J.J. Watt, and I’m going to reserve judgment there. Watt is the best defensive player in the NFL. Bosa is incredibly talented, but Watt is at another level.
- Bosa has heavy hands, allowing him to play anywhere on the line. He also has the athleticism to stunt and be effective moving around after the snap, still exploding upfield to get pressure on the quarterback.
Overall
Bosa is incredibly talented, obviously. He combines speed and power, and has an unlimited ceiling. As Urban Meyer has said, he might be the best defensive lineman he’s ever coached. This is a guy with unlimited potential, and we’ll get to see how much he’s grown in 2015.