All-Pro Playmaker Hypes Bo Nix as Potentially ‘Massive’ Broncos Deal Looms

According to Denver Broncos teammate and outside linebacker Nik Bonitto, second-year quarterback Bo Nix was “really impressive” as a rookie. Moreover, Bonitto expects” really good things” for Nix in 2025.

Nix set the Broncos’ rookie franchise records for passing attempts, completions, yards, and touchdowns.

He also helped snap a nine-year playoff drought.

“I expect really good things from him this year. A guy that came in last year, and he’s obviously on the older end as far as prospects coming in, but you can see from Day 1, he tried to come in and lead in the right way, too. Not just trying to command it,” Bonitto told Jim Rome on “The Jim Rome Show” on July 16. “He did it while earning his keep on the team and earning the trust of teammates, which everyone respected.

“Then on top of that, this year, how he’s coming in, you can see how he’s more comfortable, more of a pro this year. And I’m excited to see his growth, and I know he’s going to do really big things this year.”

Nix threw for 3,775 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions on 66.3% completion in 2024.

Perhaps most encouraging about Nix’s acclimating and ingratiating himself well is that it was more than just one specific item.

“It wasn’t just like one thing I wanted to see during camp,” Bonitto told Rome. “I was a young guy, just like him. So, I understand how it’s going to be coming into the league. But just multiple times last year, where he would have a bad play, or maybe a couple rough stretches of plays, and just how he would come back and overcome and still do what he does.

“That’s really impressive, especially as a young guy. Not fading away from the moment, but just embracing it. Those type of things really impressed with him.”

Bonitto and the Broncos’ fifth-ranked scoring defense are primed to back Nix again in 2025.

Nik Bonitto’s Comments Could Prove Costly for Broncos

Bonitto earned Pro Bowl and Second Team All-Pro honors in 2024, with the Broncos’ former second-round pick (No. 64 overall) finishing third in the league with 13.5 sacks.

The 25-year-old edge defender is eyeing an even greater impact this coming season.

“Honestly, I feel like it’s made me hungrier now that I’ve kind of got a taste for having a really good season, and everything that comes with that. I feel like I’ve attacked this offseason the hungriest I have. So, I’m really looking forward to getting back out there and seeing how much I’ve grown, with all the training and stuff.”

Bonitto is heading into the final year of his four-year, $5.8 million contract with the Broncos.

He credited a “bunch of things” with contributing to his breakout season, including his teammates, whom he called “selfless” and said that is why “everybody eats.” The Broncos led the NFL with a franchise-record 63 sacks during the 2024 regular season.

Another big season from Bonitto, though, and the “massive” contract extension The Athletic’s Nick Kosmider projected in June was a possibility could be even higher.

“The market for outside linebackers is more straightforward, but Bonitto enters 2025 in an interesting spot: Still young at 25, coming off arguably a more productive season than any recent OLB around his age who signed an extension or free-agent deal,” The Denver Post’s Luca Evans wrote in May.

“If the Broncos wait on extending Bonitto, though, and he racks up another heap of sacks in 2025, his value could break through the roof.”

Broncos general manager George Paton has spoken about how they knew Bonitto had his 2024 level of production in him. The bill for that is coming due. The Broncos have several other players on the roster in similar situations, but Paton has expressed little urgency.

Nik Bonitto Motivated By Paid Teammate

Broncos teammate Jonathon Cooper has served as external fuel for Bonitto. The latter credited their friendly nudging since he entered the league with helping him get where he is.

“Me and Coop have always kind of pushed each other. We’ve always kind of reminded ourselves of the goals we came in with in the league, and we always a competitive group with me and him, and just pushing each other every day since I came in as a rookie. And kind of pushing that type of competition with the younger guys in the room as well,” Bonitto said.

“It’s always a healthy competition and a brotherhood between me and him, and I’m glad with how it’s going. We’re spreading it on to the young guys, and making it such a competitive group where everybody wants to be great.”

Cooper had 10.0 sacks in 2024 and inked a four-year, $54 million contract in November.

A hot start from Bonitto in 2025 could force Paton and the Broncos’ hand. It did for Cooper. He recorded 5.5 of his sacks over the first nine games of the campaign.