NFL1000: Joey Bosa Dominates Oakland Offensive Line in Stellar NFL Debut

I’ll admit it—when Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa was frequently mentioned as the best defensive player in the 2016 draft class, and possibly the best player overall, I had my doubts.

I did like his versatility and thought he could be a scheme-transcendent player capable of excelling in 4-3 or 3-4 base defenses, with a lot of the attributes you look for in ends who must be more attuned to the demands of hybrid fronts. Bosa showed coverage ability, and he was certainly a powerful and consistent run-stopper, but I also saw a player who attacked too high off the snap and would lose leverage. In addition, I thought Bosa’s repertoire of pass-rush moves was fairly limited, which is a common concern when it comes to collegiate edge rushers.

The Chargers took Bosa with the third overall pick and hoped he’d be able to take the skill set that allowed him to amass 26 sacks, 51 tackles for loss and 101 solo tackles in college to the NFL. Bosa’s subsequent holdout, which wasn’t resolved until August 29, and his subsequent ramping-up time, delayed that process until the fifth game of Bosa’s rookie season, when the Chargers traveled to Oakland to face the Raiders and their high-talent offensive line.

Not the ideal start for Bosa on paper, but he completely ignored that with an epic debut in which he totaled two sacks, one quarterback hit, four quarterback hurries, and five total stops…in just 27 snaps (per Pro Football Focus). Moreover, there was enough development from Bosa as an edge-rusher and overall gap defender to make it clear this was no fluke. Bosa didn’t grab Oakland’s expensive line on an off day—he is indeed the real deal, and the Chargers should be very encouraged about the progress he’s made.

When studying Bosa’s overall performance, one word keeps coming up over and over: effort. Bosa is unquestionably giving it all he’s got, he’s got a very high motor and all those other scouting cliches…but in his case, they’re true. The way he shut down this Derek Carr pass to Amari Cooper with 2:56 left in the first quarter was singularly impressive in this regard.

The Raiders have 2nd-and-19 at the San Diego 41-yard line, and Bosa is on the defensive left edge, facing right tackle Vadal Alexander. He stuns Alexander with an inside counter move off the snap and rushes into the pocket to deal with Carr. …

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