Jamar Cain told Nik Bonitto to relax. Sitting at Bonitto’s Florida home during the second round of the 2022 draft, the 6-foot-3 edge rusher was anxious.
More than 24 hours into the draft, he still hadn’t heard his name called.
Cain, however, sensed good news on the horizon for Bonitto, who he viewed like a son after coaching him for two seasons at Oklahoma.
“I was telling everybody, ‘Nik is either going to the 49ers or the Broncos,’ because those were two teams that just kept calling me, like, ‘Hey, tell me about Nik,’” Cain told The Denver Post.
As the second round drew to a close, San Francisco took USC outside linebacker Drake Jackson. Three picks later, the Broncos took Bonitto with the 64th overall pick.
Fitting given what Bonitto has become — and where that pick came from in the first place.
In November 2021, the Broncos traded away franchise icon and future Hall of Fame edge rusher Von Miller to the Los Angeles Rams for second- and third-round picks in the following spring’s draft. The second-rounder — No. 64 overall — was then used to usher in a new era of Broncos pass rushers six months later.
It just took three years for that destiny to be realized.
Now, with Bonitto fresh off his first Pro Bowl season and Miller in Buffalo after signing with the Bills in 2022, the Broncos’ past and future will clash Sunday in the AFC wild-card round. Growing up, Bonitto looked up to Miller. Now, he’s positioned to create his own legacy in orange and blue.
“I told myself that I want to be able to prove Denver right in why they picked me,” said Bonitto, who notched 13.5 sacks this season — the most by a Bronco in a season since Miller collected 14.5 in 2018. “I always had that chip on my shoulder.”
While Miller and Bonitto will forever be linked by the trade that sent one away from Denver and eventually brought the other to Mile High, defensive coordinator Vance Joseph isn’t quite ready to make comparisons.
Joseph said Bonitto has similar traits to Miller. The next step is playing at a high level on an annual basis — something Miller has accomplished as an eight-time Pro Bowl selection, two-time Super Bowl champion and three-time first-team All-Pro.
For that to happen, Bonitto will have to continue to produce in the face of increased attention, NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger said. That means more double teams, chips from running backs and other tricks teams employ to keep pass rushers away from their quarterback.
“All the things they do to great pass rushers in this business, he’s going to start getting that now,” Baldinger told The Post. “Can you beat that? Can you do what (Raiders edge rusher) Maxx Crosby and other guys have done?”
Cain knew Bonitto had the traits to be an elite pass rusher. It only took Bonitto to believe in himself.
When Cain became Oklahoma’s outside linebackers coach in 2020, Bonitto — who totaled 3.5 sacks the previous season — was quiet and unsure of his talent.
“I was still kind of raw,” Bonitto said. “(Cain) helped me out a lot whether it was watching (film) or giving me different pass rush moves that complement my game.”
The start of the 2020 season was underwhelming. Bonitto had six tackles and no sacks through three games. Cain wondered when Bonitto would find his rhythm — a question that was answered in a 53-45 win over Texas when he recorded two sacks.
Bonitto took off from that point. He finished the year with 32 tackles (10.5 for loss) and eight sacks in 10 starts and was named second-team All-American by the Associated Press. The following year, Bonitto registered seven sacks and 39 tackles, and was a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award given to the defensive player of the year in college football.
“Nik’s growth has been tremendous,” Cain said. “From getting him to understand his potential to becoming an All-American, he’s just sticking with the process.”
In 2023, Cain and Bonitto reunited once again. The Broncos hired Cain to be a pass rush specialist after serving as a defensive line coach and run game coordinator for LSU in 2022. At the time, Bonitto was coming off a disappointing rookie year in which he totaled 1.5 sacks in 15 games (one start).
“I remember telling (general manager) George (Paton) when I first got here, ‘(He’s) going to come around,” said Cain, who’s now Denver’s defensive line coach.
Bonitto made progress in 2023, recording eight sacks. However, he was limited to playing on third downs due to his struggles defending against the run. That became a point of emphasis in the offseason and he came back to Denver a different player this summer.
He finished the regular season with the third-most sacks in the league, ahead of star edge rushers like Dallas’ Micah Parsons and Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt. He matched Miller by recording a sack in six straight games, the longest such streak in franchise history. And he and Jonathon Cooper (10.5) became the first Broncos to record double-digit sacks in a season since Miller and Bradley Chubb in 2018.
Add it all up, and Bonitto was instrumental in the Broncos setting a new franchise single-season sack record with 63.
The last time the Broncos recorded at least 50 sacks in a season? Back in 2015, when they won Super Bowl 50 with Miller as the game’s MVP.
Before Denver took his protégé, Cain said he answered calls from at least 15 Denver staff members about Bonitto. “I was like ‘Guys, just take him. I put my job on the line,’” he recalled.
Three seasons later, Cain is beaming.
“Paton got a steal,” he said.
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