Nick Bosa tore his ACL in Week 3 last season. That was nine months ago. And according to Trent Williams, you would never know it.
The 49ers’ All-Pro left tackle has been watching Bosa up close during training camp, and what he sees is making him say things that should terrify the rest of the NFC.
“I see him every day. I can’t tell he had an injury and came back from anything,” Williams told reporters, via Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group. “Most people with an injury that catastrophic, you can see it with something, like with atrophy in the leg. Bosa looks better than he did before he got hurt.”
That is not a throwaway line. That’s the kind of quote a teammate only gives if he actually believes it. Bosa was already a Defensive Player of the Year candidate before the injury. If he’s legitimately better now, the rest of the NFC West has a real problem.
New coordinator, new looks
It’s not just Bosa that has Williams excited. The whole defense feels different under new defensive coordinator Raheem Morris.
“Everything is different,” Williams said, according to David Lombardi of The San Francisco Standard. Williams is specifically pumped about seeing more five-man fronts during camp, a look that’s become increasingly common across the league. The 49ers offense gets to go against that alignment in practice now, which should sharpen things up before they face it in real games.
That’s a subtle detail but it matters. San Francisco’s defense usually runs a four-man front. Getting practice reps against five-man looks means the offense won’t be caught off guard when teams throw that at them in September.
Health is still the big question
The 49ers have arguably the most talented roster in the NFL when everyone is on the field. The catch: they haven’t been able to keep everyone on the field. Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner both went down last season. So did a bunch of other starters. Fans are getting tired of watching this team’s medical staff work overtime.
San Francisco opens the regular season on September 10 against the Rams — in Australia, of all places. That’s a long way to travel for a division game. But if Bosa is actually playing at a level above where he was before the ACL tear, that trip might feel a whole lot shorter.
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