At the end of the 2022 season, there was little doubt Nick Bosa was the premier edge rusher in the NFL. Heading into 2024, the San Francisco 49ers star faces a challenge to reaffirm his status as the class of the league at the position.

ESPN on Wednesday released the results of a poll of coaches, executives and scouts ranking the top 10 edge rushers in the NFL. Last year, Bosa topped the poll after racking up 18.5 sacks. This year Bosa, has dropped three spots to number four after seeing his sack production tail off significantly.

Bosa had 10 sacks last season, his lowest number in a full season since his rookie year (nine), with that drop-off seeing the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year fall behind 2023 DPOY Myles Garrett, T.J. Watt and Micah Parsons.

Beyond his sack tally, Bosa was, according to ESPN's numbers, simply not winning his rushes as consistently as he has in years gone by.

Indeed, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler wrote in his blurb about Bosa: "Bosa has combined for 115 quarterback hits since 2021. But his 18.6% pass rush win rate ranked 19th in the NFL, well below the top three players in this ranking."

Still, the 2019 second overall pick obviously remains a player who keeps opposing teams' coaching staffs up at night.

"Awesome player — tough, explosive, can bend, can turn speed to power, plays his a– off," an AFC executive quoted by Fowler said. "Have to account for him all the time."

"He's one big muscle," an NFC coordinator added. "Has extreme leverage and power and just has a knack for disruption."

Bosa has demonstrated that knack for disruption throughout his career, and it's worth nothing that, even in a 'down year' he was still credited with racking up 95 pressures in the regular season, per Pro Football Focus, the third-most among edge rushers.

But the low, by his standards, sack total and the rush win rate will be something Bosa will be desperate to address in 2024. He conceded that the lengthy negotiations over his record-breaking contract extension, which was only agreed a few days before the season opener against the Pittbsburgh Steelers, and the practice time he missed played a significant role in his disappointing individual season.

This year, Bosa took the unusual step of attending 49ers OTAs, a voluntary section of the offseason he usually skips, and will get the chance to knock the rust off and fine-tune his game by going against Trent Williams in training camp.

Bosa has a lot of elite competition for the title of best in the NFL at his position, but his track record suggests that, with the help of a full offseason, he will resume normal service and be vaulting back up the ranking this time next year.

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