NFL1000: Joey Bosa Dominates Oakland Offensive Line in Stellar NFL Debut

I'll admit it: When Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa was frequently mentioned as the best defensive player in the 2016 draft class, and possibly the best player overall, I had my doubts.

I did like his versatility and thought he could be a scheme-transcendent player capable of excelling in 4-3 or 3-4 base defenses, with a lot of the attributes you look for in ends who must be more attuned to the demands of hybrid fronts.

Bosa showed coverage ability, and he was certainly a powerful and consistent run-stopper, but I also saw a player who attacked too high off the snap and would lose leverage. In addition, I thought Bosa's repertoire of pass-rushing moves was fairly limited, which is a common concern when it comes to collegiate edge-rushers.

The Chargers took Bosa with the third overall pick and hoped he'd be able to take the skill set that allowed him to amass 26 sacks, 51 tackles for loss and 101 solo tackles in college to the NFL.

Bosa's subsequent holdout, which wasn't resolved until Aug. 29, and his subsequent ramping-up time, delayed that process until the fifth game of Bosa's rookie season, when the Chargers traveled to Oakland, California, to face the Raiders and their high-talent offensive line.

Not the ideal start for Bosa on paper, but he completely ignored that with an epic debut in which he totaled two sacks, one quarterback hit, four quarterback hurries, and five total stops…in just 27 snaps, per Pro Football Focus.

Moreover, there was enough development from Bosa as an edge-rusher and overall gap defender to make it clear this was no fluke. Bosa didn't grab Oakland's expensive line on an off day—he is indeed the real deal, and the Chargers should be very encouraged about the progress he's made.

When studying Bosa's overall performance, one word keeps coming up over and over: effort.

Bosa is unquestionably giving it all he's got, he's got a very high motor and all those other scouting cliches…but in his case, they're true. The way he shut down this Derek Carr pass to Amari Cooper (below) with 2:56 left in the first quarter was singularly impressive in this regard.

The Raiders have 2nd-and-19 at the San Diego 41-yard line, and Bosa is on the defensive left edge, facing right tackle Vadal Alexander. He stuns Alexander with an inside counter move off the snap and rushes into the pocket to deal with Carr. However, Carr gets the ball off to Cooper on a quick out route, and it looks as if Cooper has a bit of free space.

Not so, as Bosa reverses course to track Cooper down nine yards downfield.

Bosa's first sack of the day, which came with 1:39 left in the first half, was similarly based on effort. This time, he's on the defensive right side, which puts him up against left tackle Donald Penn. Not an advantageous matchup for our young traveler, as Penn is one of the better and more powerful pass-blockers in the league.

Bosa first tries to ride Penn outside, but nothing doing. Penn, in a two-point stance at the snap, simply shuts him down. Bosa then tries the same type of inside move he put on Alexander, but that doesn't work either.

He'll need a better array of hand moves and body control to dip-and-rip as he goes along, but the one thing Bosa does have is the ability to get away from Penn as quickly as possible and attack Carr from the other side.

He hits the other side of the pocket, runs past left guard Kelechi Osemele (who's trying to catch up with defensive tackle Caraun Reid on a stunt) and takes Carr down for a loss of 12 yards. When you're still refining your technique to deal with the NFL's best blockers, moving around those guys is your best gambit.

Bosa's second sack, which came with 5:28 left in the game, also saw him move past his first blocker to take the opposing quarterback down. Here, he's back on the defensive left side facing Alexander, who rides him out of the pocket this time.

Bosa's tweener status as a guy who can struggle between agility and power as a pure pass-rusher is still a bit disconcerting, but watch how he tracks Carr down on the other side of the pocket. Bosa will get sacks based on the simple fact that he has more wind to maintain quickness than a lot of the guys blocking him, and that's what you see here.

I compared Bosa to Chris Long coming out of college, and I still think it fits. Like Bosa, Long was a well-developed player who could do a lot of things and therefore get lost in the wash when it came to enormous sack totals.

Selected second overall by the Rams out of Virginia in 2008, Long ramped up to a couple of double-digit-sack seasons in 2011 and 2012 with 13.0 and 11.5, respectively, and he bookended those seasons with 8.5-sack campaigns in 2010 and 2013. But he had just nine total sacks in his first two seasons and really developed as a run-stopper.

That is where Bosa will make his most lasting initial impact on San Diego's defense, despite the early sack and pressure totals. NFL blockers will learn to adjust to his speed. They'll move to negate him with slide protection and hand him off in concert. Then it'll be back on his shoulders to adapt or find himself invisible.

This tackle of Raiders running back Jalen Richard for a two-yard loss with 10:01 left in the first half is a perfect example. Bosa is back on Penn's side, and this time he's too fast to the inside for the big man. Bosa reads the run play perfectly (something he did extremely well in college) and just blows it up.

This is also a preview of what Bosa will be when he learns to use his hands consistently—he sheds Penn as he's moving past him in textbook fashion.

It took a long time for Bosa to finally hit the field—the combination of a holdout and a hamstring injury he suffered during his first Chargers practice turned some views from "can't-miss" to "potential bust."

In truth, and like many other young NFL players, Bosa personifies neither of those snap judgments. He's a very good player already in an impressive number of ways, and with the right level of technique work, he could be truly special.

Sunday's 27-snap performance might be just the tip of the iceberg, and I saw enough to be a bit more excited about Bosa's NFL potential than I was six months ago.