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Former Ohio State Defensive End Nick Bosa Predicted To Win NFL Defensive Player Of The Year Award

Bosa recorded 19.5 sacks to lead the San Francisco 49ers to the NFC Championship Game last season.

Andrew Lind

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Coming off a season in which he was named to the Pro Football Writers of America’s All-NFL team and selected to his second Pro Bowl, former Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa is widely viewed as one of the league’s best defenders.

If he continues to build upon that, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Bosa take home the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award this fall, something NFL.com's Adam Schein’s recently predicted will happen.

“(Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle) Aaron Donald is always the pick. Or he should be. They should just go ahead and name the award after him,” Schein said. “That said, there is such a thing as voter fatigue. And given the fact that Donald is currently in a contract stalemate that has him floating the potential of retirement, maybe it takes him a few weeks to play like a legend once the deal presumably gets done. Or maybe, just maybe, this freak in San Francisco gets the love he fully deserves.

“As an Associated Press voter, I had Bosa as a first-team All-Pro last season. The man racked up 15.5 sacks during the regular season, and then added four more in three postseason games. He's the best all-around player on a loaded team that features transcendent talents like Trent Williams and Deebo Samuel. Bosa sacks the quarterback, stops the run and generally strikes fear in the hearts of offensive linemen and offensive coordinators.”

Bosa’s biggest competition is Donald, who has won the award in three of the last five seasons, and Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt, who actually took home the honor last season. The 49ers’ decision to select former USC defensive end Drake Jackson in the second round of April’s draft should help take some of the pressure off him, as well.

That said, Bosa’s 2021 campaign was even more impressive given the fact that he was coming off a season-ending ACL injury, which he suffered in Week 2 of the 2020 season.

“It's probably one of the most impressive things I've seen from a player,” San Francisco defensive cording DeMeco Ryans said last December. “It's a credit for him for the way he works, the way he practices. He practices hard. Football is important to him, and it shows. There's no reason why Nick shouldn't have some attention for Defensive Player of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year.

"This guy has done it all. He's definitely been our MVP, and I'm so happy to have him on our side just for everything that he does for us when it comes to getting after the quarterback, and not only that, but his physicality in the run game as well. He's just a complete player. One of the best players in the NFL, and we're very happy to have him. I just love the way he works, love the way he brings other guys along with him. He's just everything you could ask for in a player."

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Andrew Lind
ANDREW LIND

Andrew Lind is an Ohio State beat writer and photographer at BuckeyesNow, founder of The Ohio State Uniform Database and the NCAA and NFL writer at SportsLogos.net.

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