49ers superstar taking on an important new role in 2025

USA Today

4 days ago

After a down year, the San Francisco 49ers saw some key veterans leave the team over the last few months, including wide receiver Deebo Samuel in a trade and edge rusher Leonard Floyd, cornerback Charvarius Ward and linebacker Dre Greenlaw in free agent.
With those established voices leaving the locker room, the 49ers will need other veterans to step up and take on a leadership role, and defensive end Nick Bosa is doing his best to be one of them in 2025.
'I definitely need to take a leadership role, for sure,' Bosa told The Athletic's Vic Tafur. 'It's one thing to come in and work on my job and get better, which is all I've ever really worried about. And then it's another thing to try and bring everybody along with you. So it's definitely something that I'm thinking about and something I want to do.'
While Bosa has some teammates returning from last year's roster, including Yetur Gross-Matos, Robert Beal, Sam Okuayinomu, Jonathan Garvin and Tarron Jackson (who was carted off of the field during a practice session over the weekend), he's also joined by two newcomers - Bryce Huff and Mykel Williams.
The 49ers traded for Huff this offseason, so he's not a young player entering the league for the first time, but Williams was San Francisco's first-round pick this year, and he could greatly benefit from Bosa's advice.
Through the first few days of training camp, the five-time Pro Bowler and the team's top selection have spent some time together, and they seem to be enjoying their time.
'I mean it's just friendly banter, but some of it is constructive criticism,' Bosa said. 'Obviously, it's fun to watch a young guy just go through the growing pains that I went through — and anything that I see I'm going to help them with.'
Williams is entering the league as a 21-year-old who didn't have a ton of success in bringing down opposing quarterbacks in college (14 sacks in 40 games over three seasons). Still, Bosa likes what he sees from the rookie and knows exactly what he needs to work on.
'Mykel's looked really good,' Bosa said. 'He is very physical and he has a big reach, so he just needs to hone in obviously on his aiming points and trusting the system.'
If Williams is going to reach his potential, Bosa's help could get him get there quicker.
More 49ers: 49ers CB addresses offseason arrest in recent media availability