49ers' Kyle Shanahan compares Nick Bosa to Lawrence Taylor, Aaron Donald

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan offered high praise for star pass-rusher Nick Bosa while explaining why Bosa deserves to be in Most Valuable Player conversations. 

"It’s always tough with quarterbacks because of how big of a deal quarterbacks are to their teams and in the league and how great some of them are, so they do usually get it," Shanahan said about MVP voting on Friday, per the 49ers' website. "The other position that’s so impactful are pass rushers, so you think of someone like Lawrence Taylor, that makes sense for someone like that to win it. 

"I think it would make sense for someone like [Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle] Aaron Donald in some of the years that he’s had. And you look at Nick, who I think is right in that league right there of those two people that I just mentioned and I think he’s having that type of year, so it depends how the votes go." 

Taylor, a Hall of Famer considered by many to be the greatest overall player in NFL history, happens to be the last defensive player to earn MVP honors. He won the award for the 1986 season. Donald, meanwhile, is a three-time Defensive Player of the Year who has surpassed Taylor in the eyes of some noteworthy observers such as NBC Sports' Peter King. 

Bosa is a three-time Pro Bowl selection and is undeniably enjoying an impressive season that includes leading the NFL with 17.5 sacks as the 11-4 49ers prepare to play at the 6-9 Las Vegas Raiders this Sunday. However, outlets such as OddsChecker point out that the 25-year-old has virtually no shot at winning MVP over the likes of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals.