ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler surveyed executives, coaches, and scouts to help rank the top 10 edge rushers, and the San Francisco 49ers were represented by one of the best players in the league, Nick Bosa.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler surveyed executives, coaches, and scouts to help rank the top 10 edge rushers. There were no defensive tackles who were recognized on the San Francisco 49ers.
Unsurprisingly, Javon Hargrave fell out of the top 10 after he suffered an injury in Week 3. Christian McCaffrey slipped in the running back rankings as well. Would the same be true for Nick Bosa?
Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns remained No. 1 in this year’s edge rusher rankings. Somebody ranked Garrett fourth, which makes zero sense. After Garrett was Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt in second place for the second consecutive season. In third place was Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys. I’d take Parsons over Watt every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders was the fourth player on the list, followed by Bosa, who checks in at No. 5. His highest ranking was third, while somebody didn’t have Bosa in the top ten, which is laughable:
Highest ranking: 3 | Lowest ranking: unranked
Age: 27 | Last year’s ranking: 4
Bosa is an eye-test pass rusher. While his 19.5 sacks over the past two seasons represent mild production for a top-five pass rusher, Bosa’s disruption is obvious.
“His leverage, explosiveness, power and polished rush arsenal are unmatched,” an NFL personnel director said. “He has the same rush moves as [brother] Joey Bosa but with better play strength to win in a variety of ways.”
And Bosa posted a 22.2% pass rush win rate, up nearly four points from the previous year. His 0.70 “get-off” in 2024 was the quickest in his career and tied Garrett for the best of the season.
Since 2021, Bosa has generated 121 quick pressures (under 2.5 seconds), the fifth most in the NFL during that span.
Four NFL players have at least 60 sacks and 10 fumbles since 2019 — Watt, Garrett, Bosa and Hendrickson.
Bosa’s get-off should be even more apparent under Robert Saleh. Playing alongside a better defensive line and a team that will presumably be better against the run should also improve his rushing statistics.
Not talking about how these players stop the run is strange, as it’s a job requirement. Ignoring what Bosa brings to the table as a run defender minimizes his impact. I’d argue he’s as good against the run as he is in the pass, and everybody knows how dominant of a pass rusher Bosa is.
Here’s how the top 10 rounded out:
6) Trey Hendrickson – Cincinnati Bengals
7) Aidan Hutchinson – Detroit Lions
8) Will Anderson Jr. – Houston Texans
9) Danielle Hunter – Houston Texans
10) Jared Verse – Los Angeles Rams
Brian Burns, Nik Bonitto, Jonathan Greenard, and George Karlaftis were honorable mentions. Did the execs get it right?