NFL teams don't need to look far to project what type of player Nick Bosa might be at the next level. His older brother, Joey, entered the league in 2016 as the third overall pick in the draft, and has subsequently established himself as one of the game's most impactful edge defenders with the Los Angeles Chargers – when healthy, at least.
Like Joey, Nick was a standout edge defender for the Ohio State Buckeyes over three seasons in Columbus, and combines borderline-elite physical tools with a motor that never stops and technique honed by a life spent around the NFL (their father and uncle both played in the league in the late 1980s).
According to one talent evaluator, though, there's a better comparison for the younger Bosa than his older brother: Michael Bennett.
On Bosa's prospect page at NFL.com, analyst Lance Zierlein projects Bosa as the second coming of the New England Patriots' veteran defensive lineman, a three-time Pro Bowler and one of the most versatile frontline defenders in the NFL.
One reason why Bosa's best comparison isn't his brother? As Zierlein sees it, he's not as “naturally fluid” as the Chargers star, with “tightly bundled hips,” a “rigid” upfield attack, and a tendency to get too “straight-legged through engagement.”
The older Bosa had 22 and a-half-sacks in the first 28 games of his career before finishing with just five and-a-half last season, as injuries cut his 2018-19 campaign short.
Nick, despite credentials that make him a worthy candidate for the No. 1 overall pick, lacks the fluidity and bend needed to become an elite edge-rusher, as NFL.com sees it.
But Bosa, fortunately, doesn't have to be his brother to be a major impact player at the next level – as his comparison to a player like Bennett makes abundantly clear.
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