How often can you say the No. 2 overall pick in the draft exceeded expectations? Nick Bosa’s rookie season didn’t get off to a hot start after he went down during a training camp practice, and that felt like the world froze. Nobody knew what to do while Bosa laid there on the ground. This came after Bosa made Joe Staley look like a mere mortal.
Fast forward to the regular season, and, despite playing his way into shape for the first couple of games, Bosa had seven sacks in the first seven games of the season.
To put into perspective how often Bosa was around the quarterback as a rookie, he led the NFL in QB hits, was second in QB knockdowns and hurries, and third in pressures, per Sports Info Solutions among all defensive lineman.