NFL Media's Adam Schein made his bold predictions for the upcoming season, as he does each year. There are nine of them, and it's prediction No. 5 that should have San Francisco 49ers excited.
Aaron Donald is often the favorite to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year. The man has won it three times already (2017, 2018, 2020). Schein jokes that the NFL should name the award after the Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle. He also notes that there is such a thing as "voter fatigue," and voters may be looking for some new faces for the annual honor.
Schein's fifth bold prediction on his list is 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa being named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
"As an Associated Press voter, I had Bosa as a first-team All-Pro last season," Schein wrote. "The man racked up 15.5 sacks during the regular season, and then added four more in three postseason games. He's the best all-around player on a loaded team that features transcendent talents like Trent Williams and Deebo Samuel.
"Bosa sacks the quarterback, stops the run and generally strikes fear in the hearts of offensive linemen and offensive coordinators."
T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers won last year's NFL Defensive Player of the Year award after Donald was named the recipient in three of the previous four years.
In December of 2021, head coach Kyle Shanahan made it clear that he believed Bosa wasn't getting the recognition he deserved and should have been in the conversation for some NFL honors. Remember, those 15.5 sacks last season were earned by a player coming off an ACL injury.
"I think he's underrated," Shanahan said. "When I hear people just talk about him as Comeback Player of the Year, I don't get why he's not mentioned for NFL MVP."
Whether Shanahan meant NFL MVP or NFL Defensive Player of the Year is debatable. What isn't debatable is that Bosa's coaches think highly of the talented pass rusher. That includes defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, who was impressed with Bosa's efforts in returning from a devastating injury.
"It's a credit for him for the way he works, the way he practices," Ryans shared in December. "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."