Broncos OLB Nik Bonitto sweeps local PFWA awards as ‘good guy,’ team MVP

Broncos OLB Nik Bonitto sweeps local PFWA awards as ‘good guy,’ team MVP

Nik Bonitto is a man of many talents. The Broncos’ outside linebacker pulled a double this week. The Denver chapter of the Pro Football Writers Association of America voted Bonitto as both the team’s Darrent Williams Good Guy award winner and the Demaryius Thomas Team MVP award. He is the first player to earn both awards from reporters who cover the team regularly. “Knowing the two guys before me that (have their names) on the awards in Demaryius and Darrent and being such high-character guys in the locker room and in Denver,” Bonitto said, acknowledging how much the awards mean to him. “They held such a high standard, and I’m trying to live to that standard every day.” Bonitto has seen his sack production slow some in recent weeks, but he has 12.5 on the season, and is one off his career best, set last year. He’s generated 72 pressures, according to Next Gen Stats, and his 19.4% pressure rate is third-best in the NFL among players with at least 200 pass rushes. Bonitto’s not just pressuring quarterbacks, he’s doing it fast. His 10.8% “quick pressure” (pressure generated in 2.5 seconds or less) is the best mark in the NFL and the best mark posted since Myles Garrett and Micah Parsons in 2023. Bonitto, though, lauded the fact that 17 different Broncos defensive players have at least a half-sack this season. “I think that’s the most underrated part of when we’re rushing the passer, or with some of these blitzes…

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