If the Browns select Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa in the first round on Thursday, Buckeyes defensive coordinator Luke Fickell realizes the difficult transition Bosa would face playing in a scheme for which he’s not best suited.
But Fickell could also see the temptation of putting Bosa opposite Browns outside linebacker Paul Kruger, who totaled 11 sacks in 2014 and thrived with the Baltimore Ravens opposite standout pass rusher Terrell Suggs.
Fickell mentally considered the Bosa-Kruger scenario, laughed and said, “It’s hard to pass on a great, great, great player. I don’t know. That’s for them to try to figure out. We don’t pass on a great player when we’re recruiting.”
The Browns now pick No. 8 after last week’s trade with the Philadelphia Eagles and two-time All-America Bosa might not fall that far. Most mock drafts don’t have Bosa getting past the Ravens at No. 6.
Standing 6-foot-5 and 269 pounds, Bosa was the Big Ten’s defensive player of the year in 2014. The junior finished his career third on the Buckeyes’ all-time lists in sacks (26) and fourth in tackles for losses (50½). The latter led the nation over the past three seasons.
Bosa also has NFL bloodlines. His father John (1987, a Boston College defensive end) and uncle Eric Kumerow (1988, an OSU linebacker) were picked 16th overall by the Miami Dolphins, although the pro careers of both were short.
“The disruptive force he’s been throughout his career is evident every time you turn on a game,” ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. said of Joey Bosa during a pre-draft conference call. “He’s just a fear-factor player. It’s hard to block him. He comes at you 100 miles an hour.”
ESPN’s Todd McShay pointed out that Bosa’s game is not built on speed.
“It’s built on quickness, power, leverage, hand usage,” McShay said during a March 2 conference call. “He’s exceptional with his hands and it keeps him off a lot of blocks. He keeps offensive tackles guessing in terms of what move he’s going to use. He has enough quickness to threaten on the outside, but he’s not a speed rusher like Von Miller.”
Bosa has played with his hand on the ground his entire career, and standing up as an outside linebacker in the Browns’ 3-4 scheme would mean Bosa would have to learn how to play in space.
Kiper believes Bosa’s best fit is as a defensive end in a 4-3 defense, and Fickell agreed during a phone interview with the Beacon Journal late last month. But Fickell believes Bosa could play in a 3-4.
“I don’t know that’s where he’d be best, but he’s so gifted, there’s so many different things he can do,” Fickell said. “That would be something just a hair bit new to him, but he could do it much better than guys we’ve had in the past that transitioned to that spot. He’s definitely the guy that can do it.”
Asked what stands out most about Bosa, Fickell said, “Contact balance.”
“I’ve never seen a guy in college, especially at a young age, that has such contact balance,” Fickell said. “His core strength is as unique as anybody I’ve ever seen. You can’t knock him off-balance. You don’t get him out of position. We’ve had kids like Cameron Heyward (now with the Pittsburgh Steelers) who go really hard, they’re just like a bull in a china shop. This guy is so under control for a 275-pound, 280-pound guy, you couldn’t believe it.”
Bosa’s numbers dropped in 2015, when he was double- and triple-teamed. They slipped from 13½ sacks and 21 tackles for losses as a sophomore to five sacks and 16 tackles for losses as a junior.
But Fickell said he saw Bosa stop relying on his God-given ability and take the next step in learning, studying and practicing.
“I kind of challenged him, ‘You can be a first-round draft pick if you keep doing what you’re doing or you can mature and start studying the game and you can be anywhere from a 5 to a 1 [overall] pick,’” Fickell said. “I think that’s where he’s grown most. That’s why I don’t think he will have a hard time if they turn him into an outside ’backer.”
After being suspended for the 2015 season opener, which Dane Brugler of NFLDraftScout.com said was for marijuana, Bosa avoided the limelight. According to a story on the Sports Illustrated web site campusrush.com, Bosa moved out of the apartment he’d shared with running back Ezekiel Elliott since his freshman year and into a sparse one bedroom, cooking for himself and playing video games.
“He can make his own music. He doesn’t have to be out there in the limelight, he can hold to himself in a dorm room or whatever,” Fickell said.
But Fickell believes Bosa can handle being the face of a franchise, even though he’s a laid-back guy Fickell envisions walking down the beach.
“He’s gotten more and more used to it. He doesn’t shy away from it,” Fickell said of the notoriety. “He’s just one of those guys that doesn’t have to have it. He’s not going to go out seeking it. He’s not going to be a guy who’s like, ‘Where’s the party?’ ’’
Fickell said Bosa has grown up “a ton” since his suspension.
“You’ve seen that maturity, you’ve seen things change,” Fickell said. “He’s come a long way, not that he had a long way to go.”
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.