After creating what is looking to be a very successful 2021 rookie class, Denver Broncos general manager George Paton looked to keep the momentum rolling by making Oklahoma’s Nik Bonitto his very first selection in this year’s draft.

The selection was a shock to nobody, as a massive portion of offseason coverage was around how Paton would address the edge position post Von Miller.

But as we all know, the draft is no guarantee of a productive player, and, for Bonitto, this is no different. While the college tape shows signs of brilliance, various factors could affect the young pass rusher’s long-term trajectory. It is up to the Broncos organization to put him in the best situation possible, ultimately with the goal of maximizing his potential.

Like any young player, Bonitto has both strengths and weaknesses in his game, and Denver’s coaching staff to create a system that caters to his strengths while hiding his weaknesses will play a large role in determining how his career turns out.

Positives

For Bonitto, his biggest strength are his movement skills. Smaller than the traditional edge rusher at 6 foot 3 and 240-pounds, Bonitto can make up for it with a blend of agility, oily hips, bend, and speed. This truly allows him to be a unique athlete at the position, making him more of a hybrid between an off-ball linebacker and edge.

These athletic traits transfer very well into a few specific on-the-field qualities, more specifically his ability to cover. While this may not be thought of as the most important responsibility for an edge rusher, it can make a defense especially versatile and unpredictable, leaving opposing quarterbacks wondering who will be blitzing and who will be dropping back in coverage.

To the aforementioned point about creating a viable situation for Bonitto, there is plenty of uncertainty around newly acquired defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. We simply have not seen enough to nail down exactly what he is going to deploy in his scheme, but for Bonitto’s sake, Broncos Country should be hoping they utilize his ability to cover and play in space.

It is also notable that Bonitto isn’t the only Denver Broncos edge rusher sharing this strength. Baron Browning projects to be very similar in play style to Bonitto. With one drafted and the other moved from inside linebacker to edge this year, it is clear Evero values this trait.

More traditionally valued from edge rushers, Bonitto can really get after the quarterback and has an arsenal of pass-rush moves at his disposal. Again, he’s smaller but also more agile than the average edge player, so these moves all function based on finesse, but moves like spins, swims and dips are all commonplace in Bonitto’s game.

Most recently, Bonitto’s pass rush ability was shown in a joint training camp practice against the Cowboys where he reportedly had an outstanding four sacks on the day. For comparison, 2021 Defensive Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year vote-receiver Micah Parsons tallied three sacks on the day.

Of course, Bonitto was working against what many believe to be a pretty weak Cowboys offensive line, but it is still impressive for the rookie to show out as he did, in what looked to be the most intense practice of the year.

Concerns

While there are plenty of strengths in Bonitto’s game, there are deficiencies the Denver Broncos staff are going to have to work around as well.

The most glaring of these is the ability to defend the run.

Again, this goes back to his lack of mass and length.

Simply put, there is a lot to be desired here. Bonitto has been swallowed up by larger tackles during his collegiate career, not displaying adequate play strength at the point of attack to set an edge or shed a block once in position.

In the past, he’s been able to use his athleticism and overall ability to be slippery in shooting gaps and making big tackles for loss but this is not something that will consistently work in the NFL.

While this is most definitely something Bonitto can improve upon, it is unfair to ever ask him to be great in this category.

A lot of what is exciting about Bonitto, like his ability to be so fluid and move at such a rapid pace, could be hurt if he looked to gain additional weight in an effort to improve his run defense.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, Bonitto’s very unique style of play makes for him to be used in very unique ways on the field. While traditional edge rushers may be asked to stand up an opposing tackle and set an edge consistently, for the Denver Broncos, Bonitto should not be by limiting his snaps to specific situations early in his career. The Broncos now are well set up for this as the most recent depth chart lists him as the fifth edge on the roster.

These situations should mostly be limited to passing downs where Bonitto’s two biggest strengths, coverage and rushing the passer, are best utilized. While a limited role may not seem to have much impact, that couldn’t be further from the truth for the edge position.

In today’s pass-centric league, it is as important as ever to have an entire stable of pass rushers to rotate, and in Bonito’s case, get creative with.

Just like any rookie, it is important to limit expectations, but if utilized properly and given the opportunity to play, Bonitto has the skill set to flash spurts of excellence in year one, showing Broncos Country why Paton made him his first selection in this year’s NFL draft.