Joey Bosa still atop Mike Mayock’s edge rusher rankings
By Luke Sims
Joey Bosa was once considered the hands down best player in the 2016 NFL Draft but now he may be edged as the top edge rusher in the last minute shifts of the draft board.
Leonard Floyd, DeForest Buckner, Joey Bosa, Noah Spence, the names just go on and on and on as to who could be the best edge rusher in the 2016 NFL Draft class.
And yet the position’s ranking by draft analyst Mike Mayock remains unchanged the day before the draft begins with Joey Bosa sitting squarely at number one.
Which is exactly where he belongs.
26 sacks and 51 tackles for a loss in three seasons at Ohio State. That level of production is ridiculous and with Bosa’s strong work ethic and commitment to the game, it’s clear he isn’t going to slow down when he gets to the NFL.
When Bosa promised to fix the Jacksonville Jaguars defense in his promo video from the team site, you get a sense that he knows how to come in and work to make a difference. He knows how to compete and be the difference maker that a team like the Jaguars needs.
This isn’t to say that the Jags necessarily will take an edge rusher with their first round pick, but if they do stay at fifth overall and Bosa is available, he seems like the logical pick. There are other options available at edge rusher and in a trade down scenario (as mentioned at Big Cat Country) they could be valuable selections, but if given the chance to take the best edge rusher available and if that is what the team wants to do, they should pull the trigger.
That player is Joey Bosa. It’s a near-consensus pick that has gotten muddled in the build up to the draft, but it remains the wise move.
Of course, it could all be a big misdirection play and the Jags could happily pick linebacker Myles Jack or cornerback/safety Jalen Ramsey and completely fake out the draft analysts with the move. One day before the draft and the speculation runs rampant.