5 players who have exceeded expectations for the Denver Broncos in 2023

3. Nik Bonitto, EDGE

Nik Bonitto is still someone who needs to develop, but he's really taken a big step in year two. His college pass-rush coach was hired onto the staff, so that probably had something to do with Bonitto being much more present in the pass rush. Through eight games, Bonitto has 5.5 sacks, 9 tackles for loss, and 13 QB hits.

Over a 17-game season, that'd put him on pace for 12 sacks, 19 tackles for loss, and 28 QB hits. Those are almost-elite numbers for the young pass rusher. At this point, I don't think Bonitto has yet established himself as a consistent building block for the Broncos, but he's definitely doing himself some favors this year.

Bonitto is a pretty exceptional athlete and is very quick, so he's been able to essentially speed-rush his way into his numbers this year. With the recent return of Baron Browning, Bonitto should be able to continue to put up solid numbers. And he's really exceeded expectations this year after being virtually non-existent in 2022 during his rookie season.