Is Joey Bosa a Future Hall of Famer?

Adam Schein of NFL.com recently posted an article titled “Nine youngsters with Hall of Fame potential”, and last season’s defensive rookie of the year, Joey Bosa, made his way into Schein’s column. If you recall, Adam Schein wasn’t so keen on the Chargers selection of Joey Bosa during the 2016 draft, or afterward during the Bosa contract debacle. However, it appears he has come around on the Bolts stud defensive end, as he listed the former Ohio state star 4^th on the list. Here is what Schein had to say about the Chargers second-year star:

“After holding out during training camp and missing the first four games of last season due to a hamstring injury, the Chargers’ sack artist stunned me with his sheer ability to wreck games. He notched a pair of sacks in his first NFL contest and finished the year with 10.5 (in just 12 games).”

For the record, the players listed above Bosa are; Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Mike Evans at 3, New York Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. at 2, and Dallas Cowboys RB (and Bosa’s college teammate) Ezekiel Elliott in the top spot. It’s fun to think about this stuff in July, but Bosa and a few others on the list are headed into only their second season in the NFL. It’s probably best we hold off on the serious HoF talk for a while. But, while we’re talking about this, it might be cool to see how Bosa’s first year in the NFL compares statistically to some of the games recent great players at the defensive end position. Just for kicks. Here is how he stacks up:

Games played Combined Tackles Sacks Forced Fumbles Stuffs

Joey Bosa: 12 41 10.5 1 7

Julius Peppers: 12 35 12 5 3

Dwight Freeney: 16 41 13 9 8

Jason Taylor: 13 39 5 2 0

Jared Allen: 15 31 9 0 4

J.J. Watt: 16 56 5.5 0 9

(Statistics by ESPN.com)

Not too shabby for the Chargers young #99. While it might be too early to fit Bosa for a gold jacket, there is one thing we know. Joey Bosa is a terrific football player, and if he continues to improve there is almost no limit to how good he can be.