Nick Bosa had long since been seen as the Defensive Player of the Year-elect, and he was confirmed as the premier player on that side of the ball on Thursday.

The San Francisco 49ers defensive end collected the award at the NFL Honors ceremony on Thursday following a dominant campaign from the Niners' star pass rusher.

Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons and Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones had been in contention for the prize, but Bosa was the clear frontrunner having led the NFL in sacks.

Bosa racked up 18.5 sacks, also tallying 48 quarterback hits and 19 tackles for loss as the 49ers went 13-4, going on to win two playoff games before their NFC Championship Game defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles.

He becomes the third 49er to win Defensive Player of the Year, following in the footsteps of Deion Sanders (1994) and Dana Stubblefield (1997).

Bosa received 46 of the 50 first-place votes and can now look forward to a contract extension that will almost certainly make him the NFL's highest-paid defensive player.