49ers: Nick Bosa Could Be the Comeback Player of the Year

Early Promise

Nick Bosa was the second overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers and the first non-quarterback off the board, as Kyler Murray went first overall to the Arizona Cardinals. The hype for Nick Bosa coming out of Ohio State was real, as he had the frame (6’4” 266), bloodlines (his brother and fellow pass rusher Joey Bosa had already made the Pro Bowl by the time the 2019 draft rolled around), and production (29 tackles for loss in 29 college games) to justify being the first non-quarterback selected in the draft that year.

Bosa had an outstanding rookie season in San Francisco, recording nine sacks, an interception, two passes defended and two fumble recoveries on his way to becoming the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year. Individual success bred team success as the 49ers also made the Super Bowl that same season, with Nick Bosa notching four sacks in three games during their playoff run. In the same vein as JJ and TJ Watt, it appeared that there was a new great brotherly pass rushing duo in the NFL, Joey, and Nick Bosa.

2020 was a year that Nick Bosa would probably like to forget. Instead of building off of his promising rookie campaign in 2019, he tore his ACL in San Francisco’s second game of the year against the Jets. He was placed on injured reserve on September 23 of that year. Many pundits thought that Nick Bosa could become one of the next great pass rushers in the NFL, but they were anxious to see if he could regain the stellar rookie form he showed in 2019 in 2021, about a calendar year after he suffered a major knee injury.