Joey Bosa is one of the best in the NFL at getting after the quarterback. While he acknowledges that, Bosa is still looking to improve a particular area of his game.
Talking to the media following Thursday’s training camp session, Bosa said he wants to get better at defending the run.
“I feel like my run defense has gone down the last few years,” Bosa said. “I’m super focused on having more of an impact in the run game.”
Early in his professional career, Bosa played a traditional defensive end position under former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, which required more responsibilities to set the edge and play the run.
When Brandon Staley was hired in 2021, Bosa transitioned to an outside linebacker, requiring him to drop back into coverage. That meant he had to lose weight to be more fluid in space.
Bosa played around 265-270 pounds in the first five seasons and dropped to 250 pounds these last two. He is now back to his starting weight and feels that will add more power to his game to make him an impactful run defender again.
“I just think I’ll be a much more effective player and pass rush with my power, and be able to play the run a little more dirty,” Bosa added. “I kind of played at that weight for my first four or five years.
Just recently with the outside linebacker stuff, have felt comfortable dropping, but I think it’s a big part of my game to be able to be powerful and be strong. I think it was definitely a good change this offseason.”
Bosa’s 2022 season was cut due to a groin injury that required surgery. He finished with 2.5 sacks, three tackles for loss and a forced fumble in just five games.
Now healthy, Bosa’s presence on the edge will boost a defense that lacked consistency at generating pressure and against the run.