The reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year has garnered respect from his peers around the league, landing at No. 17 on the NFL's Top 100 Players of 2020 list. NFL's list counts down the league's top players determined solely by players themselves.
The success of the 49ers passing defense, in large part, was due to the performance of San Francisco's defensive line, featuring the likes of rookie sensation Nick Bosa. Throughout his record-setting campaign, Bosa appeared in all 16 games in his first season in San Francisco and registered 9.0 sacks, the fourth-most by a 49ers rookie since 1982, along with 47 tackles, an interception, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.
He also started all three postseason games and recorded an additional 15 tackles, 4.0 sacks, two passes defended and a forced fumble en route to earning his first Pro Bowl honor.
Bosa headlined a defensive unit that finished the regular season second in the NFL in yards allowed per game (281.8) and yards per play (4.66), first in forced fumbles (21), third in fumble recoveries (13) and fifth in sacks (48).
According to the countdown, Bosa is the highest-ranked defender following his rookie season in "Top 100" history and is the highest-ranked member of the 2019 NFL Draft class to appear on this year's countdown.
Bosa beat out his brother, Los Angeles Chargers edge rusher Joey Bosa on the list, who landed at No. 34. He adds to Fred Warner (No. 70), Jimmy Garoppolo (No. 43) and Richard Sherman (No. 28) as other 49ers who have so far been revealed on the NFL's list of Top 100 Players.
For the 10th consecutive year, current NFL players have voted to determine the league's Top 100 players. The three-day series will air Sunday, July 26 through Tuesday, July 28 with three, one-hour episodes each night starting at 5:00 PM PT revealing players No. 100-11. The top 10 players on the list will be revealed in a special two-hour edition on Wednesday, July 29 at 5:00 PM PT, followed by NFL Total Access at 7:00 PM PT.
