Nik Bonitto was a productive pass rusher at Oklahoma, totaling 16 sacks in his final two seasons (21 games) with the Sooners.
Despite that production, Bonitto surprisingly fell all the way to the Denver Broncos at the bottom of the second round during the NFL draft in April. Bonitto staying all the board all the way until pick No. 64 overall is something NFL teams will regret in the future, according to Draft Wire’s Luke Easterling.
“An undersized but tenacious pass rusher, Bonitto didn’t let any perceived limitations prevent him from being one of the most productive and impactful edge defenders in the nation,” Easterling wrote on Draft Wire. “Even as a rotational rusher in sub packages behind Bradley Chubb and Randy Gregory, Bonitto should make an instant impact for the Denver defense, and make many teams regret letting him fall this far.”
As Easterling noted, Bonitto will begin his pro career behind starters Chubb and Gregory, but he’s poised to start himself in the not-too-distant future. He’ll aim to help generate pressure in a crowded OLB rotation this fall.
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