Arik Armstead believes ‘the sky’s the limit’ for Nick Bosa, comments on ‘big, strong’ Javon Kinlaw

Arik Armstead, on Monday, during a video conference call with reporters, was asked about his teammate, second-year defensive end Nick Bosa. The veteran has been impressed with the young defender. Everyone has.

Bosa had one of the more impressive rookie campaigns we've seen from a defensive lineman and looks to be a cornerstone that the San Francisco 49ers defense will continue to build around.

And we may have just scratched the surface with what we've seen from Bosa. Armstead was asked about the young pass rusher's potential ceiling.

"I don't like to put ceilings on anybody," Armstead responded. "I think very highly of Nick, and I think he can do anything he wants to out there. He's extremely talented, and he works extremely hard, so the sky's the limit for him.

"I know he'll be more comfortable going into year two than year one with everything moving at a fast pace, so I'm excited to see what he does."

While this offseason has been a strange one, Bosa hasn't been as limited as he was a year ago when he dealt with hamstring and ankle injuries. And that was after recovering from surgery to repair a core muscle injury. Now, Bosa feels like he is in the best shape of his life, and he has a year of experience under his belt.

"Last year, I didn't really know what was going to work, and what wasn't, and what was my go-to," Bosa explained last week. "Just coming into games with a better plan, and not wasting any time out there because you only get so many opportunities."

While Bosa's rookie offseason was limited due to injuries, Javon Kinlaw's has been limited by the coronavirus pandemic, which forced all work until training camp to be done remotely. Reporters asked Armstead about the team's latest defensive first-round pick.

"Big, strong, obviously. Athletic guy," Armstead said in describing the rookie.

While Armstead does have some experience playing inside and will continue playing there this season in nickel situations, he understands some more experienced defensive linemen can better mentor Kinlaw.

That's not to say that Armstead isn't willing to help. He will where he can.

"He's able to learn from everybody, but it's definitely going to be on the more-experienced D-tackles to get him up to speed," Armstead noted.