The San Francisco 49ers have found significant success over their last four seasons, reaching the NFC Championship Game three times, but their approach to achieving their goals has been different from many other contenders.
Rather than building around a strong quarterback option, the 49ers have solidified the remainder of their team via the draft and other moves, creating a roster filled with star-studded talent to complement the signal-caller.
A major part of the turnaround was defensive end Nick Bosa, whom the 49ers selected with the No. 2 overall pick in 2019, as San Francisco transitioned from a 4-12 team to the No. 1 seed in the NFC en route to a Super Bowl appearance in the edge rusher's first NFL season.
Since his arrival in the NFL, Bosa has made three Pro Bowls in three full seasons of play, while winning Defensive Rookie of the Year and a Defensive Player of the Year award, solidifying himself as a top-tier player at one of the most important positions in football: edge rusher.
Should Bosa be considered one of the best building blocks for a team in the NFL?
Speaking to the importance of non-quarterbacks in the NFL, NFL Network's Bucky Brooks compiled a list of the 10 best non-quarterback franchise building blocks in the league, focusing on players 26 and under for the exercise.
At the top of his list was Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons, who began his career with two dominant years, earning two Pro Bowls, All-Pro awards, and ranking second in Defensive Player of the Year voting both times.
"If defense wins championships, the first piece of a championship puzzle should be a dominant edge defender with take-over-the-game potential. In his two NFL seasons so far, Parsons has accumulated 26.5 sacks, 33 tackles for loss, 56 quarterback hits and six forced fumbles as a hybrid defensive end/linebacker, establishing himself as the most disruptive defender in the game," Brooks said. "The 2021 Defensive Rookie of the Year is a unicorn, a premier pass rusher who moonlights as a spectacular off-ball linebacker on early downs. Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is showing the football world how to deploy Parsons like the queen on the chessboard. The third-year pro is the perfect playmaker to build a franchise around."
Right behind Parsons came Bosa, who Brooks lauded as a polished technician with violent hands and a relentless motor.
"The younger brother of Joey Bosa has taken the family business to another level since entering the league as the second overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. The All-Pro pass rusher has notched 43 sacks in 51 career games, including 34 sacks since 2021. As a polished technician with violent hands and a relentless motor, Bosa whips opponents with various maneuvers that keep blockers guessing at the line of scrimmage. Given his consistency and effectiveness as a disruptive defender on edge, the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year is the cornerstone defender that every NFL executive is looking to add to the lineup."
Ranking second on the list, Bosa came ahead of Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson, New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner, and Cincinnati Bengals wideout JaMarr Chase, amongst other talented players.
Bosa's incredible feats over the first four years of his career are setting himself up for a massive extension this offseason, which could perhaps be the biggest deal ever given to a non-quarterback.
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