Scout Report – Nick Bosa

• Position: Defensive End, Edge Rusher (3-3 stack, 4-3)
• College: Ohio State Buckeyes
• Status: 2019 NFL Prospect

Age: 21, Height: 6’4, Weight: 263 lbs, Experience: 3 years college

Strengths:

• Excellent penetration, can consistently get into the backfield and disrupt the play
• Showcases good vision that allows him to keep tabs on all the players in the backfield
• Excellent initial burst off the snap. Not uncommon to be past the line of scrimmage by the time a shotgun snap gets to the QB
• Fast hands allow for quick deflections during speed rushes
• Good awareness lets him process quickly what is happening mid-play
• High football IQ, has a very strong understanding of technique and opponent tendencies
• Good body control, can steer body away from blockers to keep providing pressure, even if blocked
• Disruptive ability forces zone blocking schemes to shift toward him, opening up potential mismatches for his teammates
• Good play recognition, has a knack of being where he needs to be
• Strong moveset, and good understanding of when to use it
• Has a good motor, plays hard on every down

Weaknesses:

• Not exceptionally strong, has problems when facing a face up blocker
• Can be easily distracted by teammates, causing him to lose the edge
• Not effective against the double block
• Was called rarely to provide containment or any form of coverage in the flat
• Durability concerns can be raised with his injury

Overview:

Without even playing a majority of the football season due to injury, Nick Bosa is still being proclaimed as one of, if not the best prospect going into the 2019 NFL draft, and with good reason. It doesn’t take long for the young man to leave an impression on you when watching a game. His ability to be a disruptor is known throughout the entire college football world, and his showcase on film speaks for itself. His ability to drive quick and immediately on the snap makes him a danger to any offense, as his ability to get into the backfield before the play as been set up is nasty. On top of this, Bosa’s reportoise of moves to use against would-be blockers makes him a mismatch to any tackle who is inexperienced, and quickly exposes those who are lagging behind. This is best seen in the game against Oregon State, when Bosa was more or less toying with the tackle on every play. In fact, I recorded Bosa making contact with an OLineman 23 times. Of those 23 times, Bosa successfully shed the block 14 of those plays, was blocked 5 times, and what I consider a tie (meaning the ruling could go either way) 4 times. This means more than half of the time, Bosa was able to get off his block and get into the backfield when he could have made a play. Another good point to be made is his ability to read the offense. It was very rare that an offense was able to trick Bosa, and his ability to quickly size up what the play was and who the immediate threat would be was astounding. All of this comes with a little warning mind you, Bosa only played through two complete games in his 2018 campaign: Oregon State and Rutgers. His third game against TCU saw Bosa go down with an injury. Afterward Bosa effectively quit the team and focused on his recovery in time for the NFL draft. Regardless of your opinions on the move, this brings up a rather problematic issue with his film; He has little of it against respectable opponents. Oregon State finished 2-10 while Rutgers ended the season 1-11, a far cry from any respectable record. This makes his weaknesses all the more important to highlight. While Bosa is deadly quick off the snap, there have been times the Oline has been able to contain his speed, and when faced with a face-up blocker, Bosa is quite inconsistent. This extends to other aspects of defense, as Bosa’s ineffective nature against face-up blockers makes him a less than ideal interior rusher. His ineffectiveness against the double block is also another issue he has. It can be argued this point holds little weight since edge rushers rarely get the double team, but it does make his positioning on the line all the more important to note. When looking at the entire body of work Bosa offers, it is still hard to argue against just how much of a threat Bosa can be. He is easily a Top 10, even Top 3 talent that will definitely be taken by the first few teams in the draft; Offenses beware.