Nik Bonitto

Historians would need to go back to 2004 to find the last instance of a team going back-to-back with two different Defensive Player of the Year winners, but with out-of-this-world play in 2025, Nik Bonitto appears poised to place Denver’s bid. Using the nationally-televised, Monday Night Football stage to introduce himself further, Bonitto wrecked the Bengals’ plans by turning an already-daunting 1st & 20 into something worse with a seven-yard sack. The Broncos’ defensive star was again unstoppable during a 28-3 rout of Cincinnati, keying victory through one-and-a-half sacks, three tackles, and two QB hits on Sept. 29, 2025.