For a long time leading to this year's draft, Nick Bosa thought and hoped he might be the No. 1 overall pick. That didn't happen. The Arizona Cardinals selected quarterback Kyler Murray and Bosa, who may have been the best player in the draft, fell to the San Francisco 49ers.
The two teams will play each other on Thursday night.
"They needed a quarterback, so they picked a quarterback," Bosa told reporters on Tuesday. "I was definitely curious to see if they would pick me No. 1. I heard Kyler Murray was going to be the pick, but I didn't know (for sure). So I was just waiting anxiously."
The wait ended when Bosa, sitting in the green room with Murray, heard the former Oklahoma quarterback's family go crazy with cheering.
Things worked out for Bosa, who went to the 49ers and has had an impressive rookie campaign so far. He has seven sacks this season and is among the league's best defenders at causing pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
"I didn't know too much about the 49ers until closer to the draft," Bosa said. "Obviously, I started to look into who might get me, and I just saw all the talent they had, all the talent they picked up with Kwon (Alexander) and Dee (Ford). And I saw how they had a good offensive line. The quarterback obviously got hurt.
"So yeah, all the pieces were in place, so it was definitely one of my top destinations that I wanted to come to."
Coach Kliff Kingsbury told Bay Area reporters on Tuesday that the Cardinals envisioned Bosa playing WILL or SAM linebacker. In San Francisco, he is strictly and hands-in-the-dirt pass rusher.
"They definitely were selling me on the two-point stance, and I was buying into it," Bosa said. "There's good things that you can do with it. I'm sure I would have gotten used to it and been fine. I think for my full potential to be reached, I think I'm in the right place, in the right defense."
Bosa will be tasked with bringing down the mobile Murray this week and helping the 49ers reach an 8-0 record.
"He's still sackable because he likes to try to extend plays, but it's definitely going to be a different challenge because we have a short week," Bosa said. "We don't really get too many live reps, and they do a lot of things that we won't see other than against them."
