Will 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa get heavy consideration for this season's Comeback Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards? The world will find out for sure when those awards are announced at this season's NFL Honors ceremony (February 10), but there's no question he has plenty of support for each distinction inside the 49ers' locker room.
Bosa has heavy competition in each category, starting with Comeback Player of the Year. Oddsmakers currently have him listed behind quarterbacks Dak Prescott (Cowboys), Joe Burrow (Bengals), and Carson Wentz (Colts), but there's no question he's gotten his share of attention for this award due to his dominant play while coming off a season-ending torn ACL. As far as Defensive Player of the Year, Bosa has flown under the radar for much of the season while players such as Myles Garrett (Browns), Micah Parsons (Cowboys) and T.J. Watt (Steelers) have gotten the headlines, but he's been getting noticed more as of late after racking up sacks in each of the past five games. Fans have shown their appreciation of Bosa, as he and Garrett are the two leaders at defensive end in this season's Pro Bowl voting, and now the media is starting to do the same.
Throw in the fact that Bosa gets double-teamed more than any player in the league, and he undoubtedly has a case for each honor. 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans expressed his agreement to that sentiment when speaking to reporters after practice on Thursday.
"I think he's having an unbelievable year," Ryans said. "A lot of people forget the guy's coming back off an ACL and he continues to get better and better each week. It's probably one of the most impressive things I've seen from a player. 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."
Bosa notched sacks number 13 and 14 in a 26-23 overtime win against the Cincinnati Bengals last Sunday, with sack number 14 coming on a crucial third-down play in the extra session that stopped a possible game-ending touchdown drive and forced the Bengals into a field goal situation. That play was the latest example of how Bosa has been the heart of a 49ers defense that has been dealing with their share of injuries to key players throughout the season.
"This guy has done it all," Ryans said. "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."
Also stating his case for Bosa on Thursday was tight end George Kittle, who seemed emphatic that Bosa should be named the Comeback Player of the Year.
"I don't think Nick cares about anything except attacking the quarterback, which is awesome," Kittle said. "He should be (Comeback Player of the Year). I don't know how he's not Comeback Player of the Year. I don't know how many sacks he has, but I know it's a lot. He just does it every single week. If you don't put two people on him minimum, he's going to sack the quarterback. He's so fast, he's so fluid, so dang strong. There's not really anything you can do to stop him unless you put two, three people on him. I don't know how he's not the frontrunner and running away with Comeback Player of the Year and just doesn't get talked about as Defensive Player of the Year even though he's having a hell of a year and people just can't stop him."
Bosa was asked about Ryans' comments on Thursday but didn't have too much to say.
"I appreciate his support. But I'm just trying to finish out the year strong," Bosa said.
He did, however, say more about the possibility of winning the Comeback Player award during an interview on the most recent edition of the Adam Schefter Podcast.
"It would really mean a lot," Bosa told Schefter. "I mean, just thinking where I was just a year ago, it was always a dream. Everybody was always saying, 'Defensive Player of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year, you're getting it.' It sounds good, and it's cool, but you put in all the work for a reason, and my body responded well. I actually think I came back better than I was, and I've improved different things about my preparation that I didn't take as seriously before. I think as awful as [the injury] was, it propelled me to be an even better player."
In the meantime, the 49ers will continue to try to help Bosa with those double-teams. Bosa's sack numbers would surely shoot through the roof if he wasn't double-teamed so much, so naturally the 49ers would like to help free him up.
"It's ongoing throughout the game," Ryans said. "We want to try to alleviate some of those double-teams as much as possible. Yeah, he is getting doubled more than anyone in the league, and he's still is one of the most productive defensive ends in the NFL. No one else is getting doubled more than him. Teams have to account for him, but also we try to move him around and put him in different positions so we can help with some of that schematically. We can try to help where he's not getting double-teamed. Just feel it out throughout the game as much as I can, and I want to get him to the quarterback, so whatever we have to do to get him there, that's what we'll do."