49ers' Bosa named Defensive Player of the Year over Parsons, Jones
San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa was named the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year at the NFL Honors event Thursday, beating out Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons and Kansas City Chiefs lineman Chris Jones for the award.
Bosa received 46 of 50 first-place votes while Jones had one. Parsons didn't receive any first-place votes but finished ahead of Jones in the voting due to second-place votes. Haason Reddick of the Philadelphia Eagles and Quinnen Williams of the New York Jets also received first-place votes.
Bosa put on a show this season, leading the league with 18.5 sacks despite missing one game due to injury. The 25-year-old, who was named a first-team All-Pro for the first time, registered at least one sack in all but three of his 16 appearances in 2022, helping San Francisco finish the regular season as football's top-ranked defense.
Parsons - a first-team All-Pro for the second straight year - was considered the favorite for the award in the first half of the season but lost steam as the campaign progressed. Here's how the numbers of the three finalists stack up:
| G | Sacks | TFL | FF | TD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bosa | 16 | 18.5 | 19 | 2 | 0 |
| Parsons | 17 | 13.5 | 14 | 3 | 1 |
| Jones | 17 | 15.5 | 17 | 2 | 0 |
Bosa is the first 49ers player named DPOY since tackle Dana Stubblefield in 1997.
Since entering the league as the second overall pick in 2019, Bosa has taken the NFL by storm. The former Defensive Rookie of the Year racked up 15.5 sacks and an NFL-leading 21 tackles for loss in 2021.