NFL Combine: No One Under More Pressure Than Joey Bosa
By Joe Russo
The NFL combine will host a fair share of Ohio State Buckeyes, but no one carries the weight of expectations and pressure as much as Joey Bosa, who has slipped to as low as No. 6 in some recent NFL mock drafts, after being a consensus No. 1 pick just after the college season.
For most of the scouting process, Joey Bosa was firmly entrenched as the consensus top overall prospect in the upcoming NFL draft. With scouts and prospects descending upon Indianapolis, the pressure is back on Bosa to prove to talent evaluators that he is still worthy of the top overall pick.
While Bosa wasn’t among our Buckeyes who can improve their stock at the combine, it is Joey Bosa who is the Buckeye with the most pressure to perform at the combine.
How much has Bosa slipped? In Mel Kiper’s latest mock draft, Bosa isn’t even the first defensive end taken off the board. That honor goes to Oregon’s Deforest Buckner. In fact, Bosa’s slips to 6th overall to the Baltimore Ravens. While 6th is nothing to sneeze at, it’s an interesting shift from the draft boards and projections all college football season long. As Buckeye fans, we were spoiled to see Bosa every week and see how he commanded triple teams and still made an impact. It’s difficult now to see how he isn’t even first at his position taken, much like when Leonard Williams slipped in last season’s draft only to be taken by the Jets as quickly as they could turn in the card.
What factors are at play for the “drop” in Bosa’s stock? It could partly be the havoc that the Buckeyes pass rush caused without Bosa in the Fiesta Bowl. It could also be questions about why he was suspended for the season opener against Virginia Tech, another game where the defense did not seem to have been overly affected by his absence. Aside from that game, there aren’t any off the field concerns that could raise red flags and there are no reports at the moment of his being unfocused or unmotivated.
The biggest factor in Bosa’s fall is simply the way the top of the draft is set up. Tennessee, which had long been assumed to take Bosa as the clear top overall prospect, would be better suited adding an offensive lineman like Laremy Tunsil to protect Marcus Mariota. With the Browns at No. 2 and the Cowboys at No. 4, there are two teams that need a quarterback.
More from Factory of Sadness
- Bet $1 on ANYTHING to Unlock $200 Guaranteed with Crazy Bet365 Ohio Promo!
- 3 reasons why the Cleveland Cavaliers have a good shot to win the East next year
- It might be too soon to say it but it looks like the Cleveland Guardians are back
- Are the Cleveland Browns a Top 10 roster heading into the 2023 season?
- Eastern Conference Solidarity: Back the Heat with $5 Bet, Win $200 Bonus INSTANTLY with DraftKings Promo
Kiper has the Browns taking Carson Wenz, the Cowboys taking Jared Goff. These franchises also have other needs beyond a defensive lineman. Even the Chargers at No. 3, currently where Buckner is projected, could go with an offensive lineman like Ronnie Stanley. Jacksonville at No. 5 could use a pass rusher, but they also get Dante Fowler back from injury and have bigger needs at the second level of their defense. That leaves Baltimore, who has always taken the best available player when there is not an incredibly glaring need elsewhere.
The NFL Combine presents Bosa with an opportunity to re-establish himself as the clear top pick for the Titans. We all know he is an incredible athlete with one of the best size-to-speed ratios in the entire draft. If he doesn’t just test well, but test incredibly well, Bosa will at least get the Titans to pause for a moment, especially given Tunsil’s off-the-field troubles that held him out of the first handful of games in 2015.
What if Tunsil’s injury history shows red flags in a medical exam? He broke his leg in the 2014 bowl season and then struggled to get back on the field in 2015. What if he himself tests poorly? Bosa has a chance to jump back into consideration for the top overall spot or at the very least, ease the concerns the Chargers have about scheme fit and put Bosa ahead of Buckner on their own internal draft board.
Next: Appreciating Jesse Owens
Bosa’s trip to Indianapolis is the most pressure packed of any Buckeye. His tape is good and his accolades certainly will draw attention. But if Bosa can have the measurable to match, Bosa could catapult back into the scrum for the top overall pick.