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Defensive Rookie of the Year – Nick Bosa
This was the easiest decision among my picks for all the midseason awards. The Steelers’ Devin Bush has shown a knack for the football with 59 combined tackles, which leads all rookie, and has taken the ball away from the offense seven times, which is best among all defenders.
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Brian Burns has looked like of the premiere speed-rushing guys off the edge with 4.5 sacks and a game-changing performance against the Jaguars, when he returned a fumble for a 56-yard touchdown and later on forced the game-sealing fumble on a strip-sack. And then there is Jacksonville’s Josh Allen, who not only has recorded seven sacks but also eight tackles for loss on a defense that right now is third in the league in terms of total sacks. He also forced a couple of fumbles just for good measure. Any other year all three of those guys could easily take home Defensive Rookie of the Year honours. However, none of these guys has come into the league and looked like a grown man quite like this dude.
Nick Bosa has been so incredible that he not only is the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, but also in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year. Despite missing the season-opener, the second overall pick is tied with Josh Allen for the most sacks among all rookies (7) and blows the rest of the bunch out of water when it comes to total quarterback pressures, while adding a fumble forced, one recovered and that leaping interception against Carolina last Sunday.
He has the whole repertoire of speed-to-power, double-hand-swipes and he is a force on D-line twists. What people don’t give both the Bosa brothers enough credit for is their run defense. Right now, Joey has ten tackles for loss, while Nick is tied for tops with eleven. Most importantly, however, the younger brother has been the biggest reason that this 49ers D-line that was filled with first-rounders finally turned into the ferocious front we wanted it to and he has given that unit some attitude. That guy entered the league with an NFL body and technique, while immediately translating his game to the pros. He will lead that San Francisco front for the next decade and be a perennial Pro Bowler, just like I always thought.
The next three: Devin Bush, Brian Burns and Josh Allen
