Nick Bosa Scouting Report

NAME: Nick Bosa

SCHOOL: Ohio State

CONFERENCE: Big10

POSITION: Edge

CLASS: Junior

RECRUITMENT RATING: 5-Star

HT: 6-3

WT: 270

Ball Get Off/Arc Speed: Explosive first step off the ball. Does a great job of carrying speed throughout the entire rep. Never slows down when changing directions or deploying rush moves, which overwhelms his opponents. Also takes long but fluid strides when running the arc. Gains a tremendous amount of depth on tackles in a minimal amount of time. Often beating tackles to their set points. Could get better at timing up the snap. Times where he was late off the ball.

Run Defense: Excellent with his runs fits. Utilizing textbook hand placement to stack and shed his opponents. Not only does he set the edge but he crashes it as well. Creates plenty of leverage with his length while anchoring into ground. Making it extremely hard for tackles to move him off his spot of contain. Flashes the ability to diagnose running plays (location of the ball carrier) but would like him to be more consistent in this area.

Motor: Illustrates edgy competitive toughness on tape. Effort is excellent and rarely takes plays off.

Bend: Hip flexion isn’t ideal but he makes up with excellent body control. Constantly keeping his hips parallel to the Quarterback. He also possesses an exceptional understanding of angles and how to soften them with rush moves. Turns around tight edges through optimal pad level and ankle flexion as well.

Pass Rush Ability: Utilizes a variety of pass rush moves. Is well versed with clubs, swipes, snatches, rips, etc. Wouldn’t classify his ability to corner as a trump card, but still effective. Illustrates the deployment of snatches and pull moves at the top of his arc. Also does a good job of changing up his plan attack. Sets up his opponents based on their tendencies. Often capitalizes when they over set or don’t get deep enough. Bull rushes are lethal as well.

Lateral Range/Change of Direction: Smooth change of direction skills but will occasionally get juked out by nimbler opponents. Hard to option against because of his lateral agility. Possesses a superb ability to change directions at full speed. Making his jab steps and cross face moves that much harder to guard with the additional momentum.

Awareness: Has a great nose for the football at LOS or in the back field. Always being mindful of keeping his head up when engaging with blockers to locate the football. Also understands blocking schemes and how to defend them. Crashing down on option plays, not allowing to get reach by his opponents or setting the edge on outside zone, etc. Football IQ is obvious on tape.

Best Trait: Hand Usage

Worst Trait: Hip Flexibility

Best Film: Michigan State State (2017)

Worst Film: Iowa (2017)

Pro Comparison: Joey Bosa

Nick Bosa possesses pro bowl/all pro ability and is arguably the best player in the 2019 class. He seems to meet all of the athletic thresholds (from what he has shown on tape, the combine will tell us for sure), and is nuanced in every technical part of his game. He might lack the optimal amount of flexibility in his hips, but makes up for it with smooth change of direction skills and body control. Like his brother, he should take the league by storm and be an extremely productive player from the get go.

Work Cited

Crabbs, Kyle. “2019 NFL Draft Player Profile: Nick Bosa.” The Draft Network, 20 Dec. 2018, thedraftnetwork.com/2018/12/07/2019-nfl-draft-player-profile-nick-bosa/.