Outside Linebacker · Denver Broncos

Nik Bonitto

No. 15 · 5th season

One and a half sacks. Now they're talking Defensive Player of the Year.

There is a version of Nik Bonitto's story that ends at year one. A second-round pick out of Oklahoma who couldn't hold up against the run, who managed a sack and a half across an entire season. Plenty of players have disappeared from worse starting points.

Bonitto came out of Oklahoma as an edge rusher — someone whose whole job is to get to the quarterback and make that feel like an emergency. His rookie year in Denver suggested the jump from college to the pros was going to take time. A sack and a half is a number that, quietly, puts a ceiling on expectations.

Something changed. Bonitto is now being talked about as a real candidate for Defensive Player of the Year going into 2026 — the league's highest individual honor on that side of the ball, voted on by players and coaches who watch film for a living.

That is not a small distance to travel. From a player teams could scheme around to one they have to build a game plan for — that gap is where careers either stall or become something worth watching. Bonitto crossed it.

The question now is whether this is a peak or a floor.

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