Nick Bosa endured familiar injury frustration in 2025 that prevented from adding to his already comprehensive resume as one of the best pass rushers of his era.
Understandably, a campaign in which he suffered a torn ACL in Week 3 dropped 49ers defensive end Bosa down the pecking order in the annual rankings of the NFL’s top edge rushers, compiled by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler through a poll of league executives, coaches and scouts.
But Bosa still makes the list, dropping from fifth before the 2025 season
to eighth this year.
In his write-up on Bosa, Fowler said that several voters acknowledged Bosa would be in the top five if not for the injury. One voter still had him third on the list.
That is an illustration of the respect the league still has for Bosa’s abilities, with one of his traits considered the best in the NFL by one voter.
“He’s got the best speed-to-power move in the NFL,” an NFL personnel evaluator told Fowler. “He gets offensive tackles on their heels, and he pushes right through them.”
That speed to power move has always been Bosa’s calling card, and the impact on the 49er pass rush when they did not have that fastball available to them last season was obvious as they recorded just 20 sacks, the fewest in the NFL.
Bosa will need his teammates to share the load as the pass rush seeks a significant upturn in 2026 but, if the 49ers have the benefit of his near unmatched ability to collapse the pocket with power for a full season, then the defense will be in a substantially better position to excel and make life difficult for opposing quarterbacks.
