After being picked by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft out of Oklahoma, pass rusher Nik Bonitto had an underwhelming rookie season with three quarterback hits and 1.5 sacks in 15 games.
Bonitto took a big step forward in his second season, totaling 20 quarterback hits and eight sacks in 15 games last fall. Earlier this month, coach Sean Payton was asked about Bonitto making a big leap in Year 2.
“I think to his defense, he had more opportunities relative to the depth in his second year,” Payton said on June 11. “I think that will continue to trend that way. It’s that growth we always talk about from Year 1 to Year 2, but I think he had more playing time snaps, too.”
Bonitto got 357 snaps as a rookie followed by 524 snaps last fall. He played 35% of the defensive snaps in 2022 before increasing to 52% in 2023.
Bonitto made the most of those extra reps and proved to be a productive pass rusher. The 24-year-old outside linebacker is now poised for an even larger role in 2024 and the Broncos need him to take another step forward. Denver used a second-round pick on Bonitto undoubtedly hoping for double-digit sacks from the pass rusher. We’ll see if he can hit that total in Year 3.
