Nikolas Bonitto (born September 26, 1999) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

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for the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

Early life

Bonitto grew up in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

and attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School. He was named an Under Armour All-American as a senior. Bonitto was rated a four-star recruit and committed to play

at Oklahoma over offers from Texas and Louisville. He is of Cuban, Jamaican and Haitian descent.

College career

Bonitto played in three games as a true freshman before using a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

on the season. He became a starter at outside linebacker six games into his redshirt freshman season and finished the year with 43 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. As a redshirt sophomore, he recorded 29 tackles with ten tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks and was named a second-team All-American by the

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. Bonitto repeated as a second-team All-Big 12 selection after finishing his redshirt junior season with 39 total tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 7 sacks and one forced fumble. Following the conclusion of the regular season, he announced his decision to forgo his redshirt senior season and enter the 2022 NFL draft as well as opt out of the 2021 Alamo Bowl.

Professional career

Bonitto was selected by the

with the 64th pick in the second round of the

2022 NFL draft The 2022 NFL draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual NFL draft, draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, Paradise next to Las Vegas. The first round ...

. The Broncos used the selection previously obtained from the

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in a trade for

Von Miller Vonnie B'VSean Miller (born March 26, 1989) is an American professional American football, football linebacker. Miller played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies football, Texas A&M Aggies, where he earned consensus College Football All-A ...

. After starting the 2023 season as a backup, Bonitto started over Randy Gregory in the Week 4 matchup against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

. He recorded 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble that led to a scoop and score by Jonathon Cooper in the game. Gregory was traded soon after and Bonitto was named the starter. During the 2024 season, Bonitto became the first Broncos player to have double digit sacks since

and

Bradley Chubb Bradley Austin Chubb (born June 24, 1996) is an American professional football linebacker for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the NC State Wolfpack, and was selected by the Denver Broncos ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

. In Week 13 on

Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...

against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

, Bonitto intercepted a pass from Jameis Winston, returning it 70 yards for his first career touchdown. Then two weeks later, Bonitto scored his second touchdown of the season on a 50-yard fumble return against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

. He finished the season with 13.5 sacks and as a result he made his first Pro Bowl appearance and made the 2nd team All-Pro.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

References

External links

Denver Broncos bioOklahoma Sooners bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonitto, Nik Jr. 1999 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen Players of American football from Fort Lauderdale, Florida St. Thomas Aquinas High School (Florida) alumni American football linebackers Oklahoma Sooners football players Denver Broncos players American sportspeople of Cuban descent American sportspeople of Jamaican descent American sportspeople of Haitian descent Under Armour All-American football players Hispanic and Latino American players of American football American Conference Pro Bowl players American people of Cuban descent American people of Jamaican descent American people of Haitian descent