The Denver Broncos drafted EDGE (3-4 OLB) Nik Bonitto No. 64 in the 2022 NFL Draft. Denver had high hopes that season with newly acquired quarterback Russell Wilson in town. The Broncos would go on to lose 12 games that season. So this season’s success is making Bonitto appreciative.
The Rise of Nik Bonitto and the Broncos in Four Seasons, Explained
Bonitto, No. 18 in PFSN’s NFL EDGE Impact Metric, is fifth in the league in sacks with 14. And last season, he was third with 13.5 sacks. This occurred despite Bonitto ranking outside the top 25 in sacks in 2023 and recording fewer than two in his rookie season of 2022. His rise coincides with the Broncos’ team success, most recently earning the top seed in the AFC Conference.
Bonitto said, “It’s really special. It was hard my first year. Obviously, for me personally and obviously the team, just knowing all we went through, just to see some of the guys that stuck around and continuing to build with [Head] Coach [Sean] Payton and just continuously trying to grow and get better every year. From what I think was 8-9 first year of Payton and playoffs last year and then to now being able to be the one seed, it just shows the toughness and just the will.”
Heading into the playoffs, the Broncos’ offense is No. 15 in PFSN’s NFL Offense Impact Metric, while the Broncos’ defense is first in PFSN’s NFL Defense Impact Metric.
Circling back to Bonitto’s first year, though, it was rough. The Broncos totaled a 12-loss season with the aforementioned Wilson (and HC Nathaniel Hackett). Bonitto, meanwhile, most notably, totaled a sack and a half and three QB Hits. While the Wilson-led Broncos cut their losses down to single digits in 2023, Denver still finished below 500. Bonitto, though, recorded a jump cut with eight sacks and 20 QB Hits.
Then, with Wilson out of town, the Bo Nix-led team went 10-7. It was the Broncos’ first winning record since the 2016-2017 season, and the first time Denver made the playoffs since the 2015-2016 Super Bowl-winning season. Bonitto proved to still have meat on the bone as well, totaling more sacks and QB Hits than his first two seasons combined. He recorded the aforementioned 13.5 sacks and 24 QB Hits.
And for an encore this season, he totaled the aforementioned 14 sacks and 28 QB Hits. The Broncos, meanwhile, are on a bye week until the elite eight of the playoffs are settled. It’s been a trying four seasons, but now everything is aligning for Denver.
Elsewhere, though, the Broncos’ rise happened while in “cap jail” because of an $85 million dead cap hit for Wilson. Denver split the hit between the 2024 and 2025 seasons, but it meant Broncos general manager George Paton couldn’t mess up. Bonitto added, “I feel like it’s been pretty special being a part of that.”
