Defensive Player of the Year

DE Nick Bosa

With all due respect to Richard Sherman and Fred Warner, both of whom were very close to taking this award, Bosa has been the best defensive player for the 49ers. His impact is so apparent on every snap, and he combines elite pass-rush skills with an uncommon motor that makes him nigh impossible to block.

Sherman shuts down an entire side of the field, and Warner patrols the middle of the front seven as a dynamite do-everything linebacker. The 49ers defense just seems to go as Bosa goes though. When he’s getting into the backfield, he wreaks havoc. When he doesn’t, the 49ers are vulnerable.