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Factoid

Joey Bosa

Impressive rookie season for pass rusher

What will be the first big surprise in tonight's NFL Draft? Whoever it is can only hope things go as well for him in his rookie season as they did for the first real surprise last season, pass rusher Joey Bosa. The Chargers selected him at No. 3 overall, and he went on to win the Defensive Rookie of the Year award.

Bosa's 10.5 sacks as a rookie led a better-than-expected Chargers pass rush (14th), also helping them finish 4th in takeaways. Although it didn't translate into a playoff team, it did give the team a lot of reason for optimism going forward. His season was one of the best rookie defensive performances in the last quarter of a century.

Since 1991, only a dozen rookies have had more sacks than Bosa in their first seasons. Not all of those players went on to have great careers, but most of them did. Some are among the very best pass rushers the NFL has seen in that time period.

Top rookie sack numbers over the last 25 years are shown below. Rookies from 2016 are in bold.

ROOKIE SACK TOTALS, 1991-PRESENT
YearSacksPlayerPos
199914.5Jevon Kearse, Tenn.DE
201114.0Aldon Smith, S.F.OLB
200213.0Dwight Freeney, Ind.DE
199612.5Simeon Rice, Ariz.DE
200612.0Mark Anderson, Chi.DE
200312.0Terrell Suggs, Balt.OLB
200212.0Julius Peppers, Car.DE
199711.5Peter Boulware, Balt.OLB
201111.5Von Miller, Den.OLB
200911.0Brian Orakpo, Wash.OLB
200611.0Kamerion Wimbley, Clev.OLB
200011.0Darren Howard, N.O.DE
201610.5Joey Bosa, S.D.DE
200310.5Kevin Williams, Minn.DE
199310.5Dana Stubblefield, S.F.DT
201010.0Ndamukong Suh, Det.DT
200910.0Clay Matthews, G.B.OLB
200510.0Shawne Merriman, S.D.OLB
199510.0Hugh Douglas, NYJDE
199210.0Santana Dotson, T.B.DT
199210.0Chris Mims, S.D.DE
199110.0Mike Croel, Den.OLB
20109.5Carlos Dunlap, Cin.DE
20009.5Corey Simon, Phil.DT
20049.0Jared Allen, K.C.DE
20019.0Kendrell Bell, Pitt.ILB
19939.0Chris Slade, N.E.OLB
20149.0Aaron Donald, St.L.DT
20068.5Elvis Dumervil, Den.DE
20018.5Justin Smith, Cin.DE
20008.5Shaun Ellis, NYJDE
20118.5Jabaal Sheard, Clev.DE
20138.0Ziggy Ansah, Det.DE
20128.0Bruce Irvin, Sea.DE
20068.0Tamba Hali, K.C.DE
20058.0DeMarcus Ware, Dall.OLB
20028.0Carlos Hall, Tenn.DE
20008.0Brian Urlacher, Chi.MLB
19988.0Lorenzo Bromell, Mia.DE
19988.0Vonnie Holliday, G.B.DE
20168.0Yannick Ngakoue, Jac.DE
20158.0Preston Smith, Wash. DE
20057.5Leroy Hill, Sea.OLB
20047.5Will Smith, N.O.DE
19927.5Tracy Scroggins, Det.OLB
20117.5Adrian Clayborn, T.B.DE
20117.5Ryan Kerrigan, Wash.OLB
20027.0Charles Grant, N.O.DE
19977.0Kenny Holmes, Tenn.DE
19967.0Tony Brackens, Jac.DE
20117.0Sam Acho, Ariz.OLB
20117.0Karl Klug, Tenn.DT
20167.0Leonard Floyd, Chi. OLB

--Andy Richardson

Fantasy Index