The NFL’s top 100 list continues to be slowly rolled out as the NFL season draws closer, and another Bronco found his name fairly high up on the list on Tuesday.
Edge rusher Nik Bonitto slotted in at No. 38 on the list after not being mentioned in the conversation at this time a season ago. As of Tuesday, he is the highest-ranked player on the list who wasn’t on there in 2024.
Casa Bonitto 🏡@nikkkkbonitto comes in at No. 38 on the #NFLTop100 😤 pic.twitter.com/4J7YM1uG2m
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) August 12, 2025
The 25-year-old from Oklahoma has put together a phenomenal resume over the last 12 months, as he tallied 48 tackles, 13.5 sacks (third in NFL), two pick-6’s (the one against the Colts was technically a scoop-and-score because it was a backwards pass) and he was named to the All-Pro Second-Team and the Pro Bowl team.
"BONITTO. UNBELIEVABLE."@Broncos INTERCEPT A DOUBLE PASS FOR A PICK SIX pic.twitter.com/Rt2NlHTYNT
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 16, 2024
The only thing left? A new contract to keep him in the orange and blue for the foreseeable future.
🙏🙏🙏 I ain’t done https://t.co/41HkPkowkz
— Nik Bonitto (@nikkkkbonitto) August 12, 2025
George Paton and the Broncos’ front office have already paid Zach Allen and Courtland Sutton, two players who will be key pieces to the team’s championship window that is starting to creep open. Bonitto is heading into the final year of his rookie contract, a deal that’s scheduled to pay him over $5 million in 2025, which is an absolute steal for the Broncos given how good he is on the field. However, the longer that the front office waits, the more expensive that price tag will get. Right now, he’s likely sitting in the ballpark of $25 million annually, but with each passing day, that number is only going to increase.
Is the front office waiting to see if he was a one-hit wonder? Saturday’s performance against San Francisco — albeit being the preseason opener — showed that he’s arguably set to have an even better performance in 2025 than he did when he burst onto the scene, just like the Broncos did, in 2024.
“Bonitto is a hell of a player,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said after the game. “We knew that would be a challenge.”
If he’s got elite coaches saying that about him after the game, then the Broncos should know that they have an elite talent on their hands. He has shown an immense ability to grow and learn the game quickly, as he jumped from 1.5 sacks his rookie year, to 8.0 in 2023 to 13.5 last year, something that not many other pass rushers have done in their respective careers.
Bonitto won’t be the last Bronco to make the list, as both Quinn Meinerz and Pat Surtain II have not been revealed yet. Given that Meinerz was First-Team All-Pro while Surtain was the Defensive Player of the Year, it wouldn’t be surprising if they found themselves in the top 20 and the top five, respectively. Zach Allen slotted in at No. 90 on the list while Bo Nix found himself at No. 64.