Film Hints Broncos OLB Nik Bonitto is Turning the Corner
When the Denver Broncos selected rush linebacker Nik Bonitto at pick 64 in the 2022 NFL draft, the team knew that he would need to be patient with his development, especially as a run defender. Bonitto's electric first step and speed around the corner were his best traits, but he really needed the refinement of an NFL coaching staff and weight training regiment to build strength and technique if he was going to hit his ceiling as a player.
In Bonitto's rookie season, it showed. He was rarely on the field, and when he was, the results were very inconsistent. He continued to get pushed around as a run defender, but his speed flashed early and often as a pass rusher.
Flash forward to 2023, and Bonitto has carved out a significant role in the rotation at edge for the Broncos. According to Pro Football Focus, Bonitto played 45 defensive snaps for the Broncos against the Washington Commanders, racking up an impressive five total pressures and a sack.
On his 34 pass-rush snaps, Bonitto posted a 20% pass-rush win rate, which was the sixth-highest mark amongst the 72 total players with at least that many pass-rush snaps this weekend. Going back to the tape to see how his performance truly played out, it became immediately clear that Bonitto is well on his way to becoming a truly elite pass rusher off the edge.
Let's take a look.
Play 1: The Incredible Speed
Our first play comes from what was an incredible sequence of plays from Bonitto, all of which came against veteran left tackle Charles Leno. Bonitto played four consecutive snaps against Leno on the Commanders' second drive of the game and was able to collect two pressures and a sack on those four plays. This is the first rep, which sets everything up.
Bonitto gets shot out of a cannon at the snap, closing the gap on Leno and flashing his elite speed. While you can see Bonitto begin to lean into his bend around the arc, he doesn't quite commit to the rush and finish the play. Rather than get low, he uses his hands to keep Leno away from his chest and rides around the corner, narrowly missing Howell on a would-be sack.
Play 2: Adding Bend To the Speed
Two plays later, Bonitto gets his sack while compounding his incredible burst off of the line of scrimmage with his bend, coming practically untouched around the corner. If he comes with a little more force with his arms as he wraps up Sam Howell, this could have turned into a strip sack.
Notice how Bonitto changes his pad level as Leno lunges his upper body to latch on. That opens the angle for Bonitto to flatten to the quarterback and finish the play. His ankle flexion and explosiveness truly shine on this play as well.
Play 3: Finishing the Setup
In the very next play, you see the technical refinement and growth from Bonitto as he now has Leno on skates coming off of the snap. After beating rather badly on two out of three snaps with his speed, he knows he has his opportunity to flash a new move and tie his hands with his feet as a pass rusher.
Bonitto explodes off of the snap once again, but rather than keep his path around the arc, he cuts back inside and rips a nasty swim move to gain inside leverage and collapse the pocket from the interior. Unfortunately, Howell dumps the ball to a checkdown quickly and negates another would-be sack.
These three plays show that Bonitto is now formulating a pass-rush plan and has the ability to execute it quickly to disrupt the offense's game plan.
Play 4: Converting Speed to Power
Throughout the game, Bonitto lined up on both sides of the offensive line, showing that he has some versatility to his game as a pass rusher. While Bonitto was seemingly more effective coming off of the left side of the offensive line against Leno, he did have a few nice reps against Andrew Wylie on the right side as well.
Later in the first half, Bonitto got a chance to flash some great leverage while using his burst to put Wylie in an awkward position. Watch as Bonitto shows a very subtle change of pad level and bursts directly into the chest plate of Wylie, knocking him backward and into recovery technique.
Wylie loses balance, and Bonitto drives his hands down to shed the block and get another good pressure on Howell.
Play 5: Growth as a Run Defender
One of the biggest question marks about Bonitto coming into the season was how he would be able to grow as a run defender. Going back to his tape at Oklahoma and even at times last year, Bonitto was often times pushed around at the point of attack. He would counter by using his speed — something he also did in this game against the Commanders — but had a difficult time against physicality from blockers up front.
There wasn’t a lot to like from Bonitto in the running game, but the flashes that he did show were relatively impressive and showed that he is getting better in that regard.
On this play, the Commanders run a stretch zone concept right into Bonitto’s face. In the past, Bonitto would typically get washed out of the play, opening up massive running lanes to his inside shoulder. But as you can see, while he does give up some ground laterally, he keeps the line of scrimmage moving horizontally and slips Leno to make the play in the backfield.
Despite missing the tackle, this was an incredibly positive rep for Bonitto as he forced Robinson back to the inside and into the defensive pursuit.
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