In 2019, 49ers pass-rusher Nick Bosa ran away with the Defensive Rookie of the Year award in a season that saw him put up 13 sacks, 102 total pressures, 40 tackles, and 42 stops. There was never any question about Bosa’s impact on the NFC Champions’ defense, and he was a big part of getting San Francisco to Super Bowl LIV.
The 2020 draft class brought a seemingly infinite variety of defensive players into the NFL, primed to help in every way imaginable. Multi-gap defensive linemen, “joker” players who can line up everywhere from the defensive line to free safety, and top-tier cornerbacks able to tailor their skills to just about any defense.
With all the talk about the receiver class in 2020, and the array of first-round offensive tackles, the defensive side of this class is stacked in ways we’ve never seen before. Here, in reverse order, are the players most likely to take Bosa’s award forward when the time is right.
Ashtyn Davis, S, New York Jets
Adding Davis, the third-rounder out of Cal, gives the Jets one of the NFL’s most formidable safety duos in concert with Jamal Adams. While Adams can patrol the deep third, that’s really Davis’ specialty — true free safety coverage. He has the range to move with any receiver either from the deep third or from the slot.
Damon Arnette, CB, Las Vegas Raiders
It was a surprise to most when the Raiders took Ohio State’s Arnette with the 19th overall pick in the first round, as he wasn’t on most analysts’ top five cornerback lists. But as long as Las Vegas plays a ton of man coverage in 2020 (they did so at a 36% rate in 2019, eighth-highest in the NFL), Arnette can be a vital cog in what was a sub-par secondary. He’s not yet an ideal off-coverage defender, though.
Julian Okwara, EDGE, Detroit Lions
The Lions didn’t get much out of their edge defenders in 2019, which is one reason they stole Notre Dame’s Okwara with the 67th overall pick in the third round. Okwara is still working on top-level technique, but he has the athletic talent to be a pressure machine — last season for the Fighting Irish, he put up 32 total pressures on just 202 pass-rushing snaps before a broken fibula ended his season.
Kristian Fulton, CB, Tennessee Titans
Fulton, the LSU alum, isn’t what you’d call an “eraser” in coverage — he does give up the occasional big play, which is why he was available for the Titans with the 61st overall pick in the second round. Tennessee played zone coverage on 56% of its defensive snaps in 2019, and Fulton fits that schematic paradigm like a hand in glove.
Josh Uche, LB/EDGE, New England Patriots
You want to pay attention when Bill Belichick drafts a highly versatile defensive player, because Belichick values positional flexibility above all else, and Uche fits the bill. Last season, he amassed an impressive 46 total pressures on just 206 pass-rushing snaps — both off the edge of the defensive line, and as an off-ball blitzer, The Patriots have used Dont’a Hightower and Kyle Van Noy in those roles, and with Van Noy off to the Dolphins, you can easily see the fit.