Denver Broncos agree to terms with Nik Bonitto, Matt Hennigsen
Nik Bonitto is officially a member of the Denver Broncos having reached a four-year agreement with the organization according to Mike Kils of KUSA. The NFL team also inked an official deal with former Wisconsin star Matt Hennigsen, who they selected in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Bonitto came to the Broncos with the 64th overall pick, which they acquired when they traded Von Miller to the Rams last season. They did not have their first-round or second-round picks as a result of this year’s trade for Russell Wilson.
The former Oklahoma Sooners edge rusher closed out his collegiate career with 33 tackles for loss and 19.5 sacks. Now, Nick Bonitto will look to fill a key hole on the Denver defense left by Miller.
Henningsen had 34 tackles, six tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks for Wisconsin last year.
The Broncos also agreed to deals with fifth-round center Luke Wattenberg and seventh-round cornerback Faion Hicks on Tuesday.
More on Nik Bonitto with the Denver Broncos
Pro Football Focus named Nik Bonitto the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year this past season after he finished with 39 tackles (15 for loss), seven sacks and three fumble recoveries. He was also named second team All-Big 12 by the league’s coaches. The Sooners claimed conference championships in each of Bonitto’s first three seasons, but failed to make the game this past year.
Bonitto was a four-star recruit coming out of high school in 2018, and ranked as the No. 24 linebacker in the class according to On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average. He redshirted his first season in Norman, playing in only three games. The next season, he started as a backup linebacker before earning a starting role for the final eight games of the year. He broke out as a redshirt sophomore, finishing with 33 tackles (11.5 for loss), nine sacks and 10 quarterback hurries to earn first-team All-American honors from the AP.
At the NFL Combine in March, Nik Bonitto performed in the defensive end drills rather than at linebacker. He posted a 40-yard dash time of 4.54, which ranked fifth among the defensive ends who participated. He also posted a time of 7.07 seconds in the three-cone drill, which ranked third.