USAT: Niners Wire audio clip

USAT: Niners Wire

Jan 14, 2022

It wasn’t a surprise Friday when the All-Pro teams came out and 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel and left tackle Trent Williams were both named First-Team All-Pros. The surprise was defensive end Nick Bosa’s absence from the first and second teams. Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Friday said his third-year defensive end should’ve joined Samuel and Williams as All-Pros, but he also advocated for Bosa to win the Defensive Player of the Year Award. “I definitely think Bosa should be there,” Shanahan said. “There’s no doubt about that, I don’t think people appreciate how good Bosa is play-in and play-out. I’ve heard people talk about him for Comeback Player of the Year and every time they say that I can’t believe he hasn’t been mentioned in Defensive Player of the Year. So that was a surprise to me.” Bosa finished the season with 75 pressures and 16.0 sacks while spearheading a 49ers defense that finished No. 9 in points allowed, No. 3 in yards allowed, and No. 7 in total DVOA. He did all of that while earning the consistent attention of offenses with double teams, chips and other curveballs to try and slow down the former No. 2 overall pick. Perhaps 2021 isn’t the year for Bosa to win the award, but he certainly belongs in the conversation on a 49ers team that went 7-2 in the second half of the season to punch its postseason ticket. This won’t be the last year Bosa belongs in the DPOY discourse, and it feels like just a matter of time before he wins it. Email Sign up Like this article? Sign up for the Niners Wire email newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning An error has occured Please re-enter your email address. Thanks for signing up! You'll now receive the top Niners Wire stories each day directly in your inbox.

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