ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The biggest adjustment for most rookies is simple. They go from all that in their final year of college to one of the last guys on the team in their first year in the NFL.
Happened for Nik Bonitto last year.
In 2021, he was the best defensive player on an Oklahoma Sooners team that started 9-0 and was ranked No. 4 in the nation before losing a Big 12 Conference showdown to Baylor. In 2022 as a second-round rookie for the Denver Broncos, he never left the sideline in the season opener, didn’t even get to dress in the second game and didn’t get as many as 10 defensive plays until his fifth game.
Practice is where Bonitto noticed a difference right away from college to the NFL, going up against left tackle Garett Bolles.
“In college I was a guy who could always go around the edge,’’ Bonitto said in an interview Monday with 9NEWS. “In the league a guy like Bolles is athletic to where he can come with me around the edge.’’
And so during the offseason, Bonitto constantly worked on his craft.
“Just being able to have different moves that I worked on this offseason,’’ he said. “I’m not just a one-trick pony, I’m able to use power and use my hands as well.’’
Bonitto has not only made significant adjustments in year 2, at times during Broncos’ training camp he’s been dominant. There has been a practice or two where he’s given such veteran starting offensive tackles Mike McGlinchey, Cam Fleming, and yes, Bolles, all they can handle.
“Just playing more confident,’’ Bonitto said. “Not really thinking too much when I’m going out there. Getting more comfortable and knowing my job. Knowing how to play the run and playing fast.”
Speed was Bonitto’s primary asset coming out of Oklahoma, where in his junior and senior seasons he combined for 16.0 sacks and 26.5 tackles for loss in 21 games. But as an outside linebacker in Denver’s 3-4 defense, Bonitto is also asked to set the edge against the run and that task was another reason why his playing was limited to part-time duty and 1 ½ sacks last season.
He fixed that this year by adding 5-6 pounds of muscle.
“Yeah, I gained a little bit of weight this offseason,’’ he said. “I felt like I was too light last year so I definitely wanted to get my weight up. Making that (setting the edge) more of an emphasis this year so I can come in and play run and pass.
“(Last year) the type of room we had, we had guys who had played a lot of ball already. Guys who had been in the system a little bit. Chubb, Randy, Baron, Coop. A lot of those guys had played a lot of ball already so I came into a crowded room. The coaches were telling me to get better every day, just continue to grow and learn from the older guys as well.”
Truth is, Broncos general manager George Paton knew Bonitto would need a partial redshirt year as a rookie when he used the last pick in the second round to snag him. That draft pick was acquired the previous season from the Rams in the Von Miller trade, and the resulting blueprint plan was to make Bonitto a cornerstone in Denver’s pass-rush transition from Von and Bradley Chubb to Bonitto and Baron Browning, who is currently hurt, and Jonathon Cooper.
Randy Gregory and Frank Clark were acquired as free agents to be the starting edge players when healthy, but Bonitto, Browning and Cooper are the Broncos’ young corps who will be around past 2023.
So far in camp, Gregory and Clark have barely played during 11 on 11 team drills, leaving Bonitto and Cooper to get their share of first-team reps.
“I’ll take all of them,’’ Bonitto said. “Going up against a guy like Garett Bolles will get me better every day. I’ll take that every time I can get. Going against him, going against Mike (McGlinchey) that’s a good opportunity for me, going against two of the best in the league.”
Ejiro Evero was the Broncos’ defensive coordinator in Bonitto’s rookie season. The new DC this year is Vance Joseph, who seems to be pushing Bonitto along.
“Coach Vance has just talked to me about playing my game, playing fast, being a guy who can be a disrupter in the backfield, sticking to my style of ball while obviously playing in the system,’’ Bonitto said. “Just playing fast.”
Fast, and a little stronger.
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