Stock Up
Nick Bosa
“Trend” is not a strong enough word to describe the first NFL rookie in our “Stock Up” portion of this column. San Francisco 49ers rookie EDGE rusher Nick Bosa has been on an absolute tear recently. Bosa started the season slowly, as is to be expected from most NFL rookies initially.
The younger Bosa has woken up in a big way recently, however. In his last three games, Bosa has notched 12 total tackles, including 7 this week against the Washington Redskins. Bosa also pushed his sack total to four and managed to wrangle 4 tackles for loss as he helped push the Redskins ever closer to a top 5 selection in next year’s NFL Draft.
Stats are great, and Bosa is putting up some very impressive stats for a rookie. But anyone who’s anyone in the scouting industry will tell you it’s about more than what shows up in the box score. Not only is Bosa filling the stat sheet, but he’s showing the technical skill that made him such a high selection.
After a rough start, Bosa is putting everything together at a pace rarely seen from someone so young. He’s not simply relying on one move that works. He’s proficient in attacking offensive linemen in multiple ways. Stats are great, but it’s that development that has baby Bosa as a front-runner for Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.
Josh Jacobs
If you’ve hung out on Twitter long enough in the NFL sections, you’re familiar with the phrase “running backs don’t matter.” To some degree, it’s true. The NFL has become a pass-first league and the running back position has become less and less of a focus. This is particularly true for NFL rookies at the position.
Seemingly gone are the days of true work-horse running backs who tote the rock 25-30 times a game. In their stead are teams running a ‘running back by committee’ scheme and teams using the running back as much in the passing game as the run game.
Then there’s the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders have hearkened back to the past, bringing in former head coach Jon Gruden for another go-round with the team. With Gruden comes a more tough, old-school philosophy that’s more reliant on a good running game.
The beneficiary of this philosophy, particularly in the team’s last two games, is rookie running back Josh Jacobs. Jacobs came out of the gates strong this season, with over 100 total yards and two touchdowns. Jacobs has seldom looked back since.
This NFL rookie has shown he can be the workhorse-type running back you may expect from a Jon Gruden-run offense. Jacobs eclipsed 20 carries in each of the Raiders’ last two games and has easily topped 100 yards in each tilt. For his efforts, Jacobs put up an OSM grade on the high end of average, good for the 5th highest RB grade this week.