49ers’ Nick Bosa dominates practice finale against Vikings

EAGAN, Minnesota — Even before Nick Bosa produced a masterpiece in Thursday’s practice, Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell knew what could be coming in their second and final joint practice with the 49ers.

“They can change a game with their pass rush, especially with Nick on the edge,” O’Connell said. “I mean, getting to see him work in person, you see why he’s such a special player each and every week in this league.”

The Press Democrat’s Inside the 49ers blog

Bosa, a fourth-year defensive end, dominated with an array of pass rushes, pass deflections and run stops. That complete package should have him in the NFL Defensive Player of the Year conversation and vault him to overdue All-Pro recognition. Consider this sequence Thursday:

— Bosa tosses a third-string tight end to the side, cuts inside and touches Kirk Cousins for a would-be sack.

— Next, Bosa is pushing aside left tackle Christian Darrisaw — a 2021 first-round pick who’s been mentored by 49ers counterpart Trent Williams — and uses that bull rush to blindside Cousins. (Bosa had, by rough estimates, six sacks this practice.)

— Then comes a run play, and Bosa is blasting into the backfield and wrapping his arms around a running back for a would-be tackle for loss.

It looked all too familiar for O’Connell, the Vikings’ first-year coach who was the Los Angeles Rams’ offensive coordinator the previous two seasons.

Said O’Connell: “Obviously with a pass rush the Niners have — I experienced it five times over the last two years playing against them — they change the way you have to play the position, the discipline of rhythms and reads, and understanding when you can hold it a little more and when you can’t.”

About an hour after practice, Bosa headed for the team bus in his white socks while carrying his cleats. He didn’t walk alone. He was with Williams, arguably the NFL’s top offensive lineman and someone who’s been swapping tips with Bosa for two years.

‘Boring’ offense

Working on a neighboring field, the 49ers’ offense wasn’t anywhere near as electric as Bosa or their feisty defense, which nearly provoked a few fights amid taunts and hard pushes.

Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk initially offered the boilerplate response about joint practices — “It was good work going against somebody different in a different environment” — before honestly divulging his true feelings.

“I didn’t like it. I thought it was a waste of time, personally,” Aiyuk said. “It was boring for sure.”

Indeed, the 49ers’ offense mostly labored around midfield, unable to produce any true touchdowns. Trey Lance was 11-of-17, but didn’t have great protection (three sacks) and he had two passes ricochet off the hands of Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel.

“It was like Day 1 stuff, basic stuff,” Aiyuk added about the offense’s mundane approach. “I was getting a little irritated only touching the ball three times the past two days, but that’s beside the point. Kyle (Shanahan) and them have their own agenda to what they want to accomplish here, so we get better every rep and figure everything out later.”

The Vikings’ edge rushers, Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith, seemed to wreak the most havoc, sometimes shifting inside to test the 49ers’ young guards, Aaron Banks and Spencer Burford.

“That’s what we’ll see in the regular season, and I’m glad we got to see it here, where the bullets aren’t live and they’re not learning at the quarterback’s expense,” Williams said. “They kept improving every day. That’s the thing about having young players, it’s never going to be perfect. It’s about climbing a hill and, as long as they take a step forward each day, that’s all we can ask.”

Deebo delivering

The Lance-to-Samuel connection has heated up in the past week, and after a pair of early incompletions Thursday, Samuel was a go-to target in the two-minute drill, including a 25-yard catch over the middle for Lance’s final completion. Earlier, Lance failed to hit Samuel deep down the sideline in what’s seemed like a daily occurrence at camp, at least after Samuel missed the first four practices during contract negotiations.

“The first week, I really wasn’t out there that much,” Samuel said. “We knew it would take time, because this summer, they were throwing a lot and I wasn’t able to go out there with those guys. It’s just good to see the chemistry building up and we’re getting better as an offense.”

Extra points

— Defensive back Qwuantrezz Knight, an undrafted rookie, rebounded from Wednesday’s rough outing by intercepting a Kellen Mond pass. “Yeah, Q Knight, he’s done a great job and it was fun to see for him these past two days versus these guys,” defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans said. “We had to move him around a lot because of injuries in our back end, so he’s done a great job of just being a smart player who can move around (at nickel back and safety).”

— Defensive end Arik Armstead (knee), cornerback Emmanuel Moseley (hamstring) and tight end Charlie Woerner (core muscle) conditioned on a side field during team drills.

— Rookie Sam Womack, the 49ers’ projected starter at nickel back, defended a goal-line pass and earned high-fives from defensive backs coach Cory Undlin.

— Cornerback Deommodore Lenoir impressively broke up a pass intended for Justin Jefferson in one-on-one drills. Lenoir lined up with the starting unit, as did recently acquired cornerback Ken Crawley.

— Running back Elijah Mitchell (hamstring), offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill (hamstring) and cornerbacks Charvarius Ward (groin), Dontae Johnson (ribs) and Jason Verrett (knee) ran well on the side but did not practice. Safety Jimmie Ward (hamstring) and offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey (knee) remained out of practice, as did linebacker Curtis Robinson (groin) and offensive tackle Jaylon Moore (leg).