3 Reasons Doubters Got it Wrong on Broncos OLB Nik Bonitto

It's time for the naysayers to admit that they were off-target on Nik Bonitto.

Nov 17, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto (15) celebrates his sack in the second half against the Atlanta Falcons at Empower Field at Mile High. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

It has been a few years since the Denver Broncos drafted outside linebacker Nik Bonitto, but he has reached double-digit sacks through 12 games this season and has been the most consistent sack artist on the roster. However, when he was drafted, many doubted what Bonitto could do in the NFL.

Let’s look back on why there were doubts surrounding Bonitto and why those misgivings have been proven incorrect.

Scheme

The first reason many doubted him was that he went to something beyond Bonitto's control. That would be the scheme. At Oklahoma, the Sooners used a slanting defensive front, which made things extremely easy for their front-seven players.

It put offensive linemen behind almost off the snap, and over the years, very few players have come from slanting defensive fronts and found success in the NFL. Slanting fronts attack the gaps with speed and athleticism, which worked for Bonitto but raised questions about his ability to hold up when working straight up on a one-on-one block. 

Technique

Early in his NFL career, those concerns were validated. Bonitto would struggle to win reps when working straight up on blocks but saw great success as an unblocked pass rusher. He didn’t have the pass-rush arsenal to take advantage of blockers, but he did have the athleticism to outpace them to the edge and run around them. His success in the 2023 season often resulted from doing that. 

However, that isn’t the case this year. Bonitto is beating blockers with improvements made to his pass-rush arsenal. He still has elite athleticism to beat blockers around the edge, which has happened multiple times this season.

If a blocker gets their hands on Bonitto, though, the rep isn’t over like it was during the early parts of his NFL career. The great thing for the Broncos, and the scary thing for their opponents, is that he still has room to grow and become even more dangerous as a pass rusher.

Bonitto lacks a go-to counter move and counters in general. If he can develop those counters, especially an inside spin move to set up how quick and athletic he is to challenge the arch, he could become an elite pass rusher in the NFL. 

What happens next on the Broncos beat? Don't miss out on any news and analysis! Take a second, sign up for our free newsletter, and get breaking Broncos news delivered to your inbox daily!

Run Support

Many, including myself, vastly overstated his issues against the run. While he could make some plays against the run in college and early in his NFL career, they were very few and far between.

Bonitto was a liability for 95% (or more) of his run snaps, and opponents would take advantage of that. Oklahoma's slanting front covered up some issues, but they didn’t completely hide them. 

While Bonitto still hasn’t developed into an outstanding run defender, as that remains the most significant issue to his game, he isn’t the liability he once was. He isn’t a 50/50 run defender, but he is getting closer and would probably be an 80/20 or 75/25 run defender, with the 80 or 75 being the bad play side. The fact of the matter is he may never end up being a great run defender, but that is okay. 

Bottom Line

Bonitto is a pass rusher, and he is a difference-maker. He is one of four pass rushers to have double-digit sacks at this point of the season, tied with Myles Garrett, a half sack behind Danielle Hunter, and 1.5 sacks behind Trey Hendrickson. 

The Broncos defense does an excellent job of covering up Bonitto as a run defender because of the scheme and some players around him stepping up in significant ways. He doesn’t have the lows of being a run defender as he did in his first two seasons, but his highs are higher, which speaks to his progress. 

The Broncos and Bonitto can start negotiations for a new contract after this season, as a player has to be in the league three years before that can happen. The question is, what can Bonitto get with a new contract?

At the rate he is going, he could push the $20 million average per year, but he will likely find himself in the third or fourth tier for edge rusher contracts instead of the first tier of $28-plus million or the second tier of $22-plus million. Whatever the case, many draft analysts were wrong about Bonitto in the NFL. 

---

Follow Denver Broncos On SI/Mile High Huddle on X and Facebook and subscribe on YouTube for daily Broncos live-stream podcasts!