New Ranking Shows Broncos Have One of NFL's Most Dangerous Pass-Rushing Duos

In back-to-back seasons, the Denver Broncos led the NFL in sacks. With 68, Denver came tantalizingly close to breaking the 1984 Chicago Bears' all-time single-season sack record last season of 72.

If the Broncos could have finished a little bit stronger down the stretch, they probably would have caught the '84 Bears. It didn't help that Jonathon Cooper only totaled one sack over the final eight weeks of the season. Talk about a fall-off.

It might be too much to ask for the Broncos to lead the NFL in sacks for a third straight year, but the top two guys are back. Speaking of outside linebacker Nik Bonitto and defensive end Zach Allen, the Broncos' duo checked in at No. 3 in Sports Illustrated's top five pass-rushing tandems of 2026.

"A 3-4 defensive end, Allen might be the most underrated player in the NFL. It’s something that should be impossible, considering he played for a 14–3, top-seeded team last season. Yet he remains so, even with pacing the NFL over the past two seasons in quarterback hits with 47 and 40, respectively," SI's Matt Verderame wrote.

Allen may indeed still be underrated, especially by the fans in the Pro Bowl voting, but he's made the A.P.'s All-Pro team in each of the past two seasons, including the first team last year, so his cache has grown tremendously around the NFL. And at 28, he's still in his prime window.

Interior pressure is so valuable in the NFL. It flusters quarterbacks like nothing else, and often leads to the edge rushers capitalizing on the work of the inside guys.

In Bonitto's case, he's certainly benefited at times from Allen's interior pressure, happy to clean up a scrambling quarterback. But Bonitto creates plenty of his own pressure, which Allen has capitalized on himself. It's a symbiotic relationship with this inside/outside duo.

"On the outside, Bonitto earned a four-year, $106 million extension beginning this year by turning into one of the game’s elite pass rushers. Last season, he helped the Broncos lead the league with 68 sacks by having a team-high 14, his second consecutive season with at least 13.5. Only 26 and surrounded by pass rushers, including Allen and Jonathon Cooper, Bonitto’s best days might be ahead of him," Verderame wrote.

A 2022 second-round pick, Bonitto was a bit of a late bloomer, with his break-out season coming in Year 3. Entering Year 5 now, he's a bona fide Defensive Player of the Year candidate.

More Takeaways

Nik Bonitto and Josh Allen — =Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) is sacked by Denver Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto (15) as he fumbles the ball. | Dustin Bradford / IMAGO / Icon Sportswire

What the Broncos are hoping to see from Allen and Bonitto this year is a bigger focus on punching the ball out. Both players get to the quarterback so often, whether it's pressures, hits, or sacks, but the strips and forced fumbles haven't been there.

Bonitto did have a beautiful strip-sack on Josh Allen in the Broncos' 33-30 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round, turning the corner and hitting him hard from the blind side to knock the ball out. It was one of four Allen turnovers on the day.

The Broncos now have a lot of money tied up in their front seven, with all projected starters playing on big extensions. Allen and Bonitto are on their second contracts with the club, and they're young enough that they could end up with a third.

With Cooper being arrested twice in June and facing serious criminal charges in Denver, it's unclear what the Broncos will ultimately decide to do with the troubled rush linebacker. The NFL is expected to hand down a suspension, regardless of what happens in court, so the Broncos have to start planning for life without Cooper for at least a little while.

That'll put more pressure on Bonitto and Allen, but not too much more. The Broncos are very deep at rush linebacker, with guys like Jonah Elliss, Dondrea Tillman, and Que Robinson champing at the bit to see the field.

The Takeaway

It'll be fun to see how the 2026 season plays out for the Broncos' defense. If Allen and Bonitto stay on their trajectory, perhaps they can climb higher in SI's pass-rush-duo rankings next offseason.

Myles Garrett and Byron Young of the Los Angeles Rams checked in at No. 1 in SI's rankings, followed by Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. of the Houston Texans at No. 2. Garrett and Young, as a duo, is all projection, as this will be their first year playing together.

I would have put Hunter and Anderson at the top, followed by Bonitto and Allen, simply based on their proven track record as tandems. But to each their own.

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