Round 1
Call me old fashioned, but I will continue to stick with Nick Bosa as the top pick. Until the Cardinals trade the pick (or Rosen), Bosa makes too much sense as the top pick. He’s my top prospect in the class and plays the second most important position in the NFL. For the Cardinals, that’s not a talent they want to get away.
Bosa fits the bill as an NFL edge rusher destined to be a star in the NFL. At the combine, he only solidified that notion as he tested positively across the board. He measured in at 6-4, 266-pounds, with 33-inch arms and 10-3/4-inch hands, all good results. However, when it came to the drills, Bosa was more than just ‘good,’ he was near the top of defensive linemen across the board in most tests.
His results, including rank amongst defensive linemen:
- 4.79 second 40-yard-dash (4th)
- 29 bench-press reps (8th)
- 33.5-inch vertical jump (7th)
- 116-inch broad jump (7th)
- 7.10-second three-cone-drill (4th)
- 4.14-second 20-yard-shuttle (2nd)
While watching his tape, it’s hard not to see a player very similar (if not better) to his older brother Joey Bosa — who has excelled in the NFL and was the first non-quarterback selected in the 2016 draft. He’s a smart player with a polished set of pass-rushing moves and has the explosiveness to put offensive linemen on their feet. But unlike his brother coming out of Ohio State, he is excellent at setting an edge as a run-stopper.
Bosa has the ceiling of a J.J. Watt-like player, and the floor of a high-end pass-rusher. Simply put, he can completely turn around the Cardinals defense.