Many will argue that Prescott deserves a place in this comparison. At the end of the season, only one can be the best rookie, and we are of opinion that Elliott and Bosa are high in contention to be just that. It is possible that Bosa even doesn’t make a claim because of his late start of the season (missed first four-game). Let’s say that he does to make it easier for us to make this article.
Main reason for excluding Prescott is that there are a few QB with better numbers than him with some of those being also his rookie colleagues. Bosa and Elliott are recording the figures that put them at the top of the league in competition with the names such as Adrian Peterson and Von Miller.
Additional reasons for comparing these two lies in the fact that they were roommates on Ohio State. They lived together and were selected among top 10 draft picks in 2016 NFL Draft. Bosa was selected as 3rd and Elliott as the 4th draft pick.
Both of this young man made an impressive start to their NFL careers. Zeke leads NFL in rushing yards with 1,199 attached to his name, and he is also number one running back with PFF grades at 86.8. He has 243 rushing attempts with an average length of the carry is at 4.9 yards. His longest run came against the Bengals in week 5 and was 60 yards long. Coming of the twelfth week, he stands at eleven touchdowns. Another thing that is saying a lot about his game is that he is a genuine threat as a receiver. He has a total of 24 receptions for 303 receiving yards with his longest reception being 83 yards long. The strong physical presence and his playmaking ability contributed to Dallas’s “ten in a row” wins. Together with Prescott, he creates best NFL rookie duo, but individually he has serious competition.
On the other side, we have Joey Bosa. 3rd pick from 2016 NFL Draft has been playing on a very high level. Different position from Elliott but eligible for comparison. He is on a fifth place among all edge defenders with PFF rating of 89.8. He is needle close to being an elite player with the score of 90 or more. He’s only looking Khalil Mack and Von Miller in the back who are two of the best defenders in the league and have few more seasons behind their belts. The pressure he is putting on opposing quarterbacks is nothing short of amazing. In its grading system, PFF has a statistic called pass-rush productivity. This grade measures how often a defensive player puts pressure on QB on a per-snap basis. He currently stands on a score 14.6 with 39 total pressures, five sacks, ten hits and 24 hurries on 209 pas-rush snaps. In this stats, he trails only Miller who has 17.4 score. Chargers are a different team when he is on a field, and that can be seen by their score since he debuted.
What gives him the advantage over Elliott is the fact that Zeke has Cowboys O-Line to thank for his performance while Bosa is, to put it that way, on his own. He is statistically and in every other way second only to Von Miller on his position, and that says something about this rookie.
To pick among these two outstanding rookies is not an easy task but at this moment we will stick with Joey Bosa. With four games to go, there is room to change our mind. What is your opinion on the subject?
