For Nick Bosa, Familiar Rehab Ground Could Be an Advantage

What They're Saying

Bosa, via Wagoner: “I’m pretty far along. Out on the field doing a lot of stuff, trying to just take it slow because I tend to push things quicker. I got injured pretty early last year, so there’s plenty of time for me to really kind of lay the groundwork to be ready for a long season. It’s going really well, and I plan on being ready.”

More from Bosa on his ACL history: “When I did it in ‘20, it was just like balls to the wall, get back, push every milestone as hard as you possibly can, and I probably dealt with some stuff that I didn’t need to deal with in terms of just kind of the bumps in the road of recovery. Now I’m taking it slow, and I kind of have references to go back and look at.”

2026 Fantasy Football Impact

The history matters here for Bosa’s return.

He returned from that 2020 injury to play every game the following season and rack up 15.5 sacks. Bosa’s 21 tackles for loss in that 2021 campaign led the league and remain a career high for him.

Of course, that came in his age-24 season. Bosa will turn 29 this October and is working on a pair of knees that have combined for three ACL repairs. We can’t reasonably expect him to match the production peaks of those 2021 and 2022 seasons (league-high 18.5 sacks in the latter). But Bosa’s experience with the recovery process and his stated willingness to be patient in working through it bodes well for his 2026 preparation.

Ultimately, we’re still talking about one of the position’s top talents. The Bosa family, including brother Joey, notoriously focuses on training and brings plenty of experience working back from injuries and managing their bodies.

So as long as Nick hits prime draft season with no setbacks and on track to play his usual role come Week 1, he’ll likely be worth a shot anywhere outside the top 6 at the position.

When and whether he’ll make sense for your particular draft will depend on the specifics of your format.

Other Winners & Losers

Here's what Here's what HC Kyle Shanahan said Thursday of the injury returns for Bosa, Edge Mykel Williams, and DL Keion White: “They’re coming along. They’re all in there rehabbing with a number of other guys. A couple of those guys will have a chance of [being ready for] training camp. We’ll see with Mykel as he goes.”

Williams -- last year’s 11th overall pick -- tore his right ACL in early November, so it makes sense that he’s trailing Bosa in the recovery process.

I’ve been wary of Williams since he was a draft prospect, and his 1 sack and 3 QB hits across nine rookie-year games did nothing to change my mind. So he’s not worth your redraft consideration for 2026.

White is working back from a February gunshot wound to his right ankle. It sounds like Shanahan expects him back early in training camp, which would help the D-line depth overall. But White tallied just 12 total tackles and 1.5 sacks across nine games with the 49ers last year, so he’s not a fantasy factor until he proves otherwise.

Rankings Movement

I’m not boosting Bosa’s 2026 projections yet. But if he stays on track for full playing time to open the year, expect him to climb our DL rankings this summer.