Broncos' Nik Bonitto is on pace to set historic NFL record

Billy Heyen

Broncos' Nik Bonitto is on pace to set historic NFL record image

Nik Bonitto is putting together a season for the ages.

Sure, it's only five games in right now, but if the Denver Broncos' star pass rusher can keep this up, he'll write his name in the history books.

In Sunday's Week 5 Broncos upset of the Philadelphia Eagles, Bonitto tallied another 2.5 sacks. Those came against Jalen Hurts, not an easy guy to sack at all, but Bonitto still made it happen.

Through five games, Bonitto has 7.0 sacks.

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NFL analyst Adam Levitan did the pacing work on that, and he shared on X that Bonitto is on pace to finish the season with 24 sacks.

The record is 22.5, held by both Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt.

It's not a fluke, either. According to Levitan, Bonitto leads the NFL in quarterback pressures with 31 through five games.

"In QB pressure rate, Bonitto (28.4%) is clearing Aidan Hutchinson (18.2%), Micah Parsons (22.4%), Myles Garrett (16.2%), Jared Verse (13.3%)," Levitan added.

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Before the Eagles game, ESPN's Bill Barnwell ranked Bonitto as his favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year. And then Bonitto went out and stole the show.

His name only really burst onto the scene with a breakout 2024, one that earned him a big contract extension from the Broncos.

But his performance early this season is making sure that everyone knows his name. And if he keeps this up, records are in danger of falling, too.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle