Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - MONSTER: Denver Broncos’ Nik Bonitto DOMINATED 2025, How He's Poised To Leap Further in 2026

Starting point is 00:00:00 Nick Bonito was a monster in 2025, and going into 2026, he has a chance to take an even bigger step forward inside of Denver's defense. You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. What's happening in Broncos country? I'm Cody working on today's bonus episode of the show. We are talking about Nick Bonito. Benito in 2025, he was a monster. But we're going to talk about here on today's show, how he can continue to.

Starting point is 00:00:35 to grow and evolve going into the 2026 NFL season, especially now that the fact he is fully healthy. But we're going to kick things off by talking about the monstrous year that he had that had him finishing fourth overall in defensive player of the year voting. You get all on today's episode of the show here. Broncos country. Nick Benito has been such a fun player to emerge here for Denver over the course of the last, I would say three seasons. It really goes back to Sean Payton's first year where the Broncos against the Chicago Bears. They're down in that game. gets to strip sack on Justin Fields. Jonathan Cooper has the coupon score that leads Denver all the way down to the end zone there

Starting point is 00:01:12 that fueled their comeback win there. But we've seen Benito just evolve and get better year after year after year, especially after his rookie season where he was frustrated. He was thrown into a scheme and he was thrown into the mix where they were having him do things that didn't necessarily mesh well with, I would say, how he played as a player. But man, Vince Joseph, Sean Payton, they have turned him into something special. He's had a work ethic and a drive that has helped put the Broncos defense into a very, very prestigious category over the last couple of years. When you look back at Denver's defense of leading the NFL and sacks in 2024, setting franchise record with 63 sacks.

Starting point is 00:01:49 Benito was a big part of that this past year, 68 sacks. Benito was a part of that again, led the team with 14 sacks this past season. And there were some stretches where Benito didn't even register a sack. And we'll talk about that as he can improve going forward. Last year, despite the fact that he had an elbow injury, a wrist injury. At one point, his arm looked like Rob Grunkowski's. It almost looked bionic because this is a dude that was battling through so much pain last season. And thankfully, he had the cleanup procedure, went to the Pro Bowl.

Starting point is 00:02:20 His year was special for Denver. When you talk about impact player, and we kind of saw glimpses of this in 2024, where all of a sudden Benito emerged until, hey, this guy might be one of the most clutch players. If it's not for his interception of James Winston for a touchdown in that Monday night shootout, if it's not for his pick six or fumble six that he picked up from the trick play from the Colts in 2024, the Broncos might not have made the playoffs in 2024. So Benito was a big, big factor into that. This is a dude that I have the chance to cover inside the locker room.

Starting point is 00:02:54 One of my favorite guys to talk to. He is a competitor. This guy lives and breeds football. He cares so much when the team wins. He cares so much when they lose. like he's emotional when they lose. This is a guy who gives his all. But when you look at his numbers from last season,

Starting point is 00:03:11 Benito has become one of the most valuable players to the Broncos defense to a point where Denver essentially had two players who were defensive player of your candidates and Pat Sertan and obviously Benito himself. But let's go through it. 14 total sacks for him last season as a member of the Denver Broncos, 28 quarterback hits, 39 pressures. I mean, this is a guy whose first move, his getoff is so. spectacular. He's got this ridiculous bend doing, but he's got this combination of physicality

Starting point is 00:03:38 where he can overpower offensive tackles. And he's made some of the best tackles in football look silly. And that led to obviously his 14 sacks last season. But I think when you look at his production specifically on first and third down, these are numbers from our friends over there at True Media. Benito, seven and a half of his 14 sacks came on first down last season. So really helping the Broncos defense start off on the right foot. First down, you get a sack. you back the defense up. It changes the way that the offense can call plays when you're losing yards. And then it makes it more manageable, which factored into the Broncos defense being the best third down defense in football last season. Also in the red zone, bumping teams out of the,

Starting point is 00:04:17 you know, picture forcing them to have a little bit of a longer field. That factored in the equation. On third down, though, which is the money down for Denver's defense, five sacks of his 14 came on third down last season. And when you talk about pressure, I mean, he is relentless. In the offseason, and his trainer calls him the bloodhound. And that's this characteristic he's emboldened because he's relentless. He's bloodthirsty to get after the quarterback here. He's got the right DNA, the mentality you want of a player to get after the QB here. But when you look at his sack numbers of 14 sacks, we talked about first down,

Starting point is 00:04:49 third down sack numbers there. But look at his pressures, a guy who's just always trying to get out to the quarterback on first down, 24 pressures on first down last season for Benito, according to True Media. A second down, 18. But then the money down, this is where it comes in. You want to unleash the bloodhound here. 32 pressures on third down for Benito last season. Relentless pursuit to the football.

Starting point is 00:05:12 And the fact that he was doing this all banged up with the bionic arm is even more impressive. And there were some other things that Benito was dealing with last season. But you know, you're never going to see it. You're never going to hear him talk about it. You're never going to see him use it as an excuse. And there were some stretches last year where Benito didn't even register an impact. in the SAC department. And then we're talking about single games.

Starting point is 00:05:34 We're talking about two stretches of three games in a row of him not contributing. So how much better can Nick Benito get Broncos country? We're going to talk about that next here on today's episode of the show. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Financial stress is something that a lot of people are carrying right now. And it's not just about the numbers. It can affect your sleep. It can affect your relationships and your overall mental health in ways that build up over time.

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Starting point is 00:06:40 slash locked on. That's better. H-E-L-P dot com slash locked on. Nick Benito was a monster in 2025, but in 2026, he can continue to evolve and grow and become even better this upcoming season. Can he find a way to stay healthy and also bring a little bit more consistency to the table? We're going to talk about that here on today's of the show. Broncos country, as we mentioned, Benito played banged up for a large portion of last season. And the actual injury that happened to his wrist and that culminated to his elbow actually took place in week two against the Indianapolis Colts, where the Broncos, unfortunately, defensively. They struggled. Look, they were sending a lot of pressure after Daniel Jones.

Starting point is 00:07:20 Benito got hurt in that process there. But man, he played through it all season long. He had a couple of missed opportunities for some interceptions because of the massive hand brace that he had on his wrist. club and also the elbow. But it also came in clutch against the Washington commanders in overtime, where they could have won the game on a two-point conversion. But he batted Marcus Mariotta's pass away. Bonito has become a clutch player for Denver defensively alongside Pat Sertan. And when you have two players at two different levels, and often at times when you marry these two levels of the pass rush with your coverage, it really does turn into the benefit of the defense. You need that type of continuity because without one, you don't necessarily get the other.

Starting point is 00:08:01 If you don't have a good pass rush, your corners, your secondary is going to struggle because guys can run open. They can run for more extended periods of time. When you have a pressure or a defensive line or an outside linebacker that can generate pressure left and right like Nick Benito did, it never makes it easy for a quarterback to just sit in the pocket and carve you up here. And that was a strength here. But I think maybe the biggest question here from Benito going into 2026, early on the season got to such a hot start, but then he had a couple of stretches without sacks. Now, I mentioned a week two game against the Colts was one of those games.

Starting point is 00:08:33 He didn't register a sack. It's a game he got hurt in. But there was a three-week stretch where the Broncos came back from London where he didn't have a single sack, week seven, week eight and week nine. That was against the Giants, the Cowboys and the Houston Texans. He didn't necessarily have a sack. And we talk about him finishing with 14. Well, let's just say he averaged a sack in each of those games, right?

Starting point is 00:08:54 Let's say he got a sack in week seven, eight and nine. Well, now you go 15, 16, 17, against the Chiefs in week 11, didn't register a sack had a lot of pressures. Well, say you get a sack in that game, okay, 19. Weeks 15, 16, 17, you don't register a single sack against the Packers, the Jaguars, or the Chiefs on Christmas. He could have broken the sack record easily last season, but there were stretches where he was seeing a lot of extra attention from opposing offenses where not only is he getting the offensive tackle, but he's getting a tight end. He's getting a back to his side with the tight end. And the tight end would chip release as a leakout option. And then you'd have a back that would have to come out there as well in extra pass protection situations.

Starting point is 00:09:36 They're allocating their resources to Nick Bonito because there was even a stretch where Jonathan Cooper, I think from week nine on, didn't have a single sack. And his only sack came in the postseason against the New England Patriots against Drake May. So when your other pass rusher isn't necessarily having as much success of getting out to the quarterback, they're always going to look at it from a game planning standpoint, say we're going to take away their best pass rusher. Now, interior-wise, that's Zach Allen. On the outside, we got to worry about number 15. That is the hierarchy of how offensive coordinators try to focus on this is where we need to shift our protections.

Starting point is 00:10:11 And Benito saw those stretches of extra attention. But the thing I like about Benito, that even if he's not showing up in the sack department in those games where, like I said, the two stretches of three straight games without a sack, the stretch. there that he had obviously in week two where the quarterback's just getting the ball to his hands quickly. Denver's not after get after the quarterback in that game here. He affects the game in other ways, right? Good run stopper, the ability to get behind the line of scrimmage, have a tackle for

Starting point is 00:10:37 a loss or a stop on first down. That's one thing that we saw really kind of play into his hand against the run. I'd say that as he's coming to the league from 2022 to now, that was one of the perceived weaknesses of Benito's game was he's got to do a better job of not giving up contain. I'd say he's become a very good contained player now because of his strength, his burst and his speed that he's had. Now he knows how to use his leverage to force the cut back inside on tailbacks and to not get sealed inside where teams, if they can try to do that, they will. But because he plays the outside so well, it's not easy to run against Nick Benito.

Starting point is 00:11:13 And that's, I think, an area of his game that has gotten better since he has come into the league here. And they're dropping him back into coverage now a little bit more. Vance Joseph will drop him back to the Corolla flat in certain situations. They'll drop him to the middle hook. It just really depends on down and distance situation, personnel that the offense comes out in. Benito is one of these players, folks that I look at his game. I don't see really any weaknesses to it.

Starting point is 00:11:37 That's special, considering that early on in his career, he had some weaknesses that he has obviously taken the coaching, taking the criticism, and has improved in getting better in these areas. And that's where he kind of incorporates into his training. And that is where I think the Broncos are in a very, very good position here going forward. I think Benito is going to have an even bigger year here in 2026. And if the Broncos defense can maintain its continuity and continue to be the best past rushing defense in the NFL, Benito has a really good chance, I think, next year to go through and keep his name in this defensive player of the year conversation.

Starting point is 00:12:10 As we mentioned, there was no way he was winning it over Miles Garrett. There was no way he was winning it over Patzer Tan the year prior. He finished ninth and defensive player of the year voting the year Sartan wanted. But then last season, as we mentioned, he finished fourth overall in the voting. It was a Pro Bowl player, obviously an all pro selection as well. First team, all pro. Second team, all pro, you know, two years ago in 2024. So Bonito is the type of player in the Broncos for them to get the deal done in which they did last season.

Starting point is 00:12:41 Great market value for Denver. Great price tag for Benito. And he's got a chance to increase that price tag down the road here. as he continues to evolve as one of the best pass rushers in the National Football League here. But Broncos country, that I wrap up today's episode of the show, thanks to all the everydayers out there for making us your first listen. If you want to find a way to support the show, the best way to do it, and I've got a film breakdown that will be coming out here on Nick Benito.

Starting point is 00:13:03 Join the Everydayer Club, folks, the All Access Club, get you access to the all 22 film breakdowns, access to our Discord and ad-free version of the show. So many great perks that you want to take advantage of here, because for the true fan, there's never an offseason. Lockdownbroncos. dot supercast.com or in the show notes down below. Broncos country, we will see you tomorrow for a brand new episode of Lockdown Broncos.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - MONSTER: Denver Broncos’ Nik Bonitto DOMINATED 2025, How He's Poised To Leap Further in 2026

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