When will Nick Bosa win his first DPOY award?

By: Jake Rajala

I envision the presence of the golden, Italian legend Frank Sinatra and the polarizing goon Tony Accardo, also known as “Joey Batters” when I witness Nick Bosa frequently take down opposing quarterbacks. The Bosa from the Bay Area and his brother from the City of Angels (Joey Bosa) have been all-star pass rushers in the league in the past few seasons. The Bosa bros clearly have the intimidating presence that the siblings from the film “Lawless” yield.

The younger Bosa in a San Francisco 49ers uniform has more potential than his older brother in my opinion. Nick (24 years old) is a couple of years younger than Joey (26 years old) and he’s had more success on a per-game basis in his career thus far. The SF pass-rusher made the Pro Bowl in his rookie year, as he notched 9 sacks. Nick Bosa would of course reel in a career-high 15.5 sacks in 2021, which was fourth in the NFL and second in the NFC. Bosa didn’t win DPOY last season, but I believe the motivating defensive end can soon strike gold and win the DPOY trophy that’s often claimed by pass rushers.

• Pedestrian NFC West competition

Bosa was clearly from another planet against his competition last season. Although, he didn’t mop the floor against his divisional rivals. He garnered 4.5 sacks in six games against his division foes. He didn’t turn up his success against his despised opponents in the wild NFC West. Bosa could benefit from watching the Saints Pro Bowl DE Cameron Jordan pin his ears back and beat down on the NFC South QBs Matt Ryan and Tom Brady in each matchup.

With this enunciated, I believe the blood-thirsty Bosa is primed to terrorize his NFC West opponents in 2022. The Los Angeles Rams LT Andrew Whitworth is 40 years old and coming off a Super Bowl victory. Whitworth could retire this offseason and many fans expect him to hang up his cleats soon. Bosa had a mere .5 sack in two regular-season matchups combined against the LA Rams last season, so he will be happy for Whitworth’s legacy and potential exit from the league in 2022. In Seattle, LT Duane Brown is a soon-to-be free agent, and he could not return next season. It seems realistic that Bosa will be licking his chops against weaker divisional competition next season.

• Age of Robert Quinn and Aaron Donald

The Chicago Bears pass rusher Robert Quinn turned back the clock and unleashed 18.5 sacks last season (second-most in career). I don’t foresee the 31-year-old edge rusher, who has two 10+ sack seasons since 2014, knocking out 14+ sacks in 2022.

I expect Quinn to get the treatment that Nick Bosa received in 2021. It was noted that the 49ers Pro Bowl DE was doubled-teamed more than any other pass rusher throughout most of the season. The world knows that Nick Bosa can dominate while being double-teamed, but I expect teams to be much more prepared to defend Quinn next season and Quinn will surely face a lot more challenges.

Aaron Donald has been a wrecking ball and Super Bowl champion in recent memory, but I believe his DPOY potential and annual DPOY prize are in his rearview mirror. Donald is 31 in May and he already faces a wall of pass protection in each pivotal matchup. I believe he can be an All-Pro player for the eighth season in a row, but I believe the young, sack machine in Kyle Shanahan’s squad has a higher ceiling than the Rams future Hall of Fame DT.