The pass rush of the San Francisco 49ers wasn't as lethal in 2023 as it has been in recent years.
Part of that is due to Nick Bosa not being at his peak for a portion of the season, specifically at the beginning of it. The contract negotiations that Bosa underwent with the 49ers on his extension lingered all the way to Week 1 essentially.
Because of that, Bosa started the season off sluggish and it led him to only tally 10.5 sacks. It is still a great number to have, but by his own standards, it was a down year for him. That won't be an issue in 2024 as Bosa has no distractions to stop him from starting the season off great.
It might even be the difference for him in regaining his Defensive Player of the Year title. As it stands. DraftKings sportsbook has his odds set at +700 to win it, which is tied for the third-best with Maxx Crosby. Bosa trails Michah Parsons and T.J. Watt who is tied as the favorite at +550.
So, will Bosa regain his Defensive Player of the Year title in 2024?
He definitely has a strong chance to do so. Being able to start off the season normally is everything. Bosa had a slow start last year, yet he still had a great season. Now that he gets back to his routine, it should see him have increased sacks and pressures that allow him to back his dominating standard.
The new cast of defensive lineman should also help him as well as new defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen. All of this change along with Bosa's routine returning should give him that full speed start that we are accustomed to seeing from him. It's tough to say if he will actually win it, but he's definitely got a great chance of doing so.
The odds set for him are perfect, and the fact that he has no other star on the defensive line means he will only stand out more if the pass rush comes alive again for the 49ers.
