The time has come that when we talk about Denver Broncos outside linebacker Nik Bonitto, to put it in the words of legendary rapper/producer Birdman, we should “put some respect” on Bonitto’s name.
It’s been that kind of year for the former second round pick who has seemingly played his way into a new tax bracket in his third season.
That includes scoring defensive touchdowns in back-to-back games with the latest being an intercepted lateral pass that went into the books as a 50-yard fumble return for a touchdown in a 31-13 win over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15. Bonitto return an interception 71 yards for a touchdown in a 41-32 win over the Cleveland Browns in Week 13, with the Broncos getting their bye in Week 14.
Through 14 games, Bonitto has 41 tackles and is second in the NFL with 11.5 sacks.
The Broncos are now 9-5 and clinched their first winning record since 2016 with the win over the Colts and have a 91 percent chance to make the AFC playoffs, according to NFL.com.
“I think it’s time we start talking about Nik Bonitto as a true Defensive Player of the Year candidate,” Bleav in Broncos’ Patrick Chiotti said on December 15. “… They have managed to develop him into a very solid defensive player and he has taken that jump from Year 2 into Year 3 and has now become an elite defensive player.”
Bonitto’s Path to Broncos Includes Interesting Twist
When the Broncos traded 4-time NFL All-Pro outside linebacker and Super Bowl 50 MVP Von Miller to the Los Angeles Rams in November 2021, they received a 2022 second round pick and 2022 third round pick in return.
The Broncos eventually traded away the third round pick but used the second round pick to take Bonitto at No. 64 overall out of Oklahoma.
“Undersized edge defender who plays in a slant-based scheme that makes evaluating his three-down value more difficult,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote about Bonitto in 2022. “Evaluating the pass-rush talent, on the other hand, is quite easy. He’s a wildly athletic rusher who blends get-off, stride length and flexibility into one alarming package for tackles trying to slow him down. Rush counters come instinctively and his ability to seamlessly transition his attack from outside to inside makes him a projectable rusher against athletic tackles as a pro.”
Tracking Bonitto’s Ascension to NFL Elite
One thing Bonitto has made sure of after this season is that he will likely end up among the NFL’s highest paid defensive players — the average salary of the Top 10 highest paid edge rushers in the NFL in terms of total contract value was at $128.5 million in 2024, according to Over the Cap.
That’s a long way from the 4-year, $5.8 million rookie contract Bonitto signed in May 2022, which he still has 1 year left on in 2025, when he’s due to make approximately $1.5 million. It’s hard to see the Broncos wanting to roll the dice on Bonitto becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2026, at just 27 years old, so he could be in line for a massive pay hike after this season.
Some saw this coming. Denver defensive coordinator Vance Joseph told ESPN’s Jeff Legwold before the season that he thought the Broncos might have a star pass rusher in Bonitto, who Joseph called “special” after he had a career-high 8.0 sacks in 2023.
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