The Denver Broncos defense turned heads last season, especially with their league-leading 63 sacks. Of that number, Nik Bonitto has a team-high 13.5 sacks, Jonathon Cooper contributed 10.5, and Zach Allen finished with 8.5.
Despite their success in getting after opposing quarterbacks, the Broncos are not getting some love from analytics entities like Pro Football Focus. In Trevor Sikkema’s Top 32 interior defenders list published on May 30, Allen wasn’t even in the top 10. This result had Bonitto responding with “not serious,” preceded by six Rolling on Floor Laughing emojis.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 not serious https://t.co/PWarvrLSNM
— Nik Bonitto (@nikkkkbonitto) June 3, 2025
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Sikkema had the Boston College alum at 20th because, as he wrote, “Allen’s 64.9 PFF overall grade was low, but his 73.6 PFF pass-rush grade and 81 quarterback pressures speak for themselves. He was also quite versatile, logging 287 snaps at defensive tackle, 262 at right defensive end and 451 at left defensive end.”
Bonitto will vouch for Allen because dominating up front aided the outside linebacker in having more sacks last year than in his first two seasons combined (9.5). Likewise, the PFF Broncos account on X (formerly Twitter) made a strong case for Allen by sharing his stats.
In his second season with the Broncos, Allen earned his first All-Pro selection by finishing third among interior defensive linemen in sacks (8.5) and second in pressures (73). Meanwhile, he led all interior defenders in tackles for losses (16) and became the fifth player since 2006 to have at least 40 quarterback hits in a season.
Allen’s fellow interior defender, John Franklin-Myers, ranked 18th, with Sikkema writing, “Franklin-Myers’ 0.65 PFF WAR ranks 13th among interior defenders. His 78.3 PFF overall grade in 2024 also placed 13th at the position, and he generated a career-high 82.9 PFF pass-rush grade.”
Even Bonitto Didn’t Get Much Love From PFF
Though Bonitto finished third in sacks behind Trey Hendrickson and Myles Garrett, he ranked a lowly 23rd in Ryan Smith’s top 32 edge defenders list.
Smith wrote on his article published on May 26, “Bonitto has steadily improved through his first three NFL seasons, boosting his PFF grade from 52.4 as a rookie in 2022 to 78.7 in 2024. He ranked third in the league with 13.5 sacks and earned the highest coverage grade among edge defenders at 92.6.”
Last season, Nik Bonitto had a grade of at least 70 in ten games. That total includes four games with a grade of at least 87 and a season-high 92.3 in Week 13 against the Cleveland Browns.
With Bonitto manifesting that he can be one of the defensive leaders, signing him to a contract extension must be the Broncos’ priority. However, his price tag won’t be cheap, as SI.com’s Bob Morris speculates that he could command a contract that will average $22 to $24 million annually. Getting this deal puts him near the average salaries of comparable players like Greg Rousseau, Josh Sweat, and Jonathan Greenard.
Extending Bonitto this Offseason Saves the Broncos More Money
NFL.com senior news writer Kevin Patra agrees that a long-term deal between Nik Bonitto and the Broncos will benefit both parties. While the All-Pro edge rusher has one year left in rookie scale contract, having an extension gives the former Oklahoma standout security and confidence to continue playing at a high level.
Meanwhile, the Broncos can save more money on top of the dead cap that will be freed from Russell Wilson’s five-year, $242.5 million contract extension. As Patra wrote, “Extending him now could save Denver money next year, with the franchise tag projected to be worth more than $28 million.”
