It wasn’t that long ago when it looked like Denver Broncos 2022 second-round pick Nik Bonitto looked like his ceiling would be as an average player, at best. The fourth-year star shattered that perception last year.
Bonitto was the top sack artist for a defense that led the league in sacks. He had 13.5 sacks on the year (third in the league) and was named to the Pro Bowl roster.
Bonitto, entering the final year of his contract and looking for a big payday, has a chance to lead the league in sacks this season, according to Alex Kay of Bleacher Report. While looking for five players who could earn their first career sacks title, Kay named Bonitto. Here was his assessment:
“Casual NFL fans may not know who Nik Bonitto is quite yet, but they almost certainly will by the end of the 2025 season. The Denver Broncos standout shot up the league’s pass-rushing hierarchy with a 13.5-sack campaign in 2024, earning his first Pro Bowl nod in the process.
Bonitto sparingly saw the field as a rookie but began to realize his potential with eight sacks in 2023 and made massive strides in Year 3. Coming off a season in which he outperformed every defender but Trey Hendrickson and Myles Garrett in the sack column, Bonitto finds himself on the cusp of stardom.
Bonitto’s ascendance was instrumental in Denver ranking No. 3 in the league in scoring defense last year. His disruption in the backfield helped guide the up-and-coming program to a surprise playoff berth out of the loaded AFC West.
Earning more playing time could help Bonitto make even bigger strides in 2025.
After entering the league as a promising pass-rusher with limited abilities against the run, Bonitto has developed into a more well-rounded talent who saw the field for a career-high 61 percent of defensive snaps in 2024. It was a stark increase from the 35 percent he saw as a rookie, but there’s still room for him to see even more action in 2025.
With Jonathon Cooper, Zach Allen and John Franklin-Myers all back in the mix after combining for 26 sacks last year—plus third-round rookie Sai’vion Jones set to join the rotation—Bonitto will have plenty of support.
If Bonitto can leverage that assistance while improving his own blossoming skill set during the offseason, he’ll be well on his way to competing for the sack title again in 2025.”
Dating back to 1983, a Broncos player has led the league in sacks just one time. That was Elvis Dumervil, who had 17 sacks in 2009.
If this prediction were to come true, it could be a double-edged sword for the Broncos. While it would be great to see a player lead the league in sacks, it would drive the price to retain Bonitto up considerably and either make it quite difficult to do so or put the team in a position where it has to choose him over another player looking for a new deal, such as Courtland Sutton or Zach Allen.
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