The pass rusher is going off.
Broncos' Nik Bonitto has case as best defensive player in the NFL originally appeared on The Sporting News
Nik Bonitto signed a big contract extension this offseason with the Denver Broncos.
And it might've been a bargain.
The star pass rusher is off to an utterly dominant start to the season.
Bonitto has been so good that ESPN's Bill Barnwell writes that Bonitto would be Defensive Player of the Year if he continued like this.
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He has 4.5 sacks, second just to Brian Burns (5.0), but leads in every other pass-rushing category.
"Pressures? Bonitto's 27 are the most in football, and his 31.4% pressure rate is about double that of superstars like (Josh) Hines-Allen and Aidan Hutchinson," Barnwell writes. "Quick pressures? Bonitto's 15 are four more than anybody else in the league, and his 17.4% quick pressure rate is almost laughably outlandish. The second-best quick pressure rate for guys with 80 pass-rush opportunities or more is Garrett at 11.2%, and he's closer to 23rd than he is to Bonitto in first."
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One clip went viral earlier this season of Bonitto getting off the ball so fast that he was past the offensive lineman before there was any chance of even touching Bonitto.
"Bonitto has simply been head and shoulders above everyone else in getting to the quarterback and creating problems this season," Barnwell writes. "There might not be anybody better right now at getting off the line and around opposing tackles; there's usually at least one snap per game where it looks like Bonitto was in the offensive huddle and knew the snap count and the protection scheme."
The Broncos have built up a really talented core. Bonitto's continued improvement clearly is going to be a key part of how far this Denver team can go.
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