Chargers Bold Predictions: Joey Bosa will lead the NFL in sacks
By Travis Wakeman
Playing in just 12 games last season, Joey Bosa was still good enough to win NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.
Naturally, expectations are going to be high for the second-year defensive end this season. I’m going to fuel that fire by making this bold prediction.
Bosa will lead the NFL in sacks in 2017.
That’s not an idea that I share alone. The guys over at NFL Spin Zone recently said the same thing. Bosa had 10.5 sacks last season—almost one per game—so what makes this such a bold prediction?
Bosa is one of the league’s best young defenders and clearly has the ability to accomplish a feat such as leading the league in sacks, but what makes this a particularly bold prediction is the names of the sack artists that Bosa would have to outperform in order to actually have the most sacks.
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Von Miller, Khalil Mack and Justin Houston might be the three best pass rushers in football, and all three of them just happen to be in the AFC West. That list doesn’t even include Vic Beasley, who led the league with 15.5 sacks.
Of course, there are plenty of other guys who will easily hit double digits in sack numbers, but Bosa has some other things going in his favor. Recently, Nate Davis of USA TODAY ranked the Chargers’ defensive line as the best in the league. That is a line that includes Melvin Ingram, another top-notch sack master.
Opponents are going to have to figure out a way to handle both of these guys, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a better combination in the entire league. Bosa is simply too talented to be kept from making many, many big plays on the quarterback this season.
He missed four games last season and still finished in the top 15 in the league. What will happen if he plays in a full 16-game season?
It’s certainly not a stretch to believe he could have more sacks than anybody.