The NFL draft process for [autotag]Nik Bonitto[/autotag] is an interesting case study on college production vs. size and traits. In Bonitto’s time at the University of Oklahoma, he was one of the more productive pass rushers in college football, even if he wasn’t always utilized as a pass rusher.
In most mock drafts this winter ahead of the 2022 NFL draft, Bonitto has been taken anywhere from the second to third round. A lot of the knock on the Sooners edge rusher is his size. Teams aren’t sure if he’s an outside linebacker or if he’s capable of playing with his hand in the dirt off the edge. For a player of Bonitto’s caliber, that’s just semantics.
Looking at some of the more underrated prospects in the 2022 NFL draft, Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus had this to say about Nik Bonitto:
Connecting those traits to proven college production leads to an even stronger correlation to NFL success, which should draw eyes to Oklahoma’s Nik Bonitto. He’s been the most productive pass-rusher in this class on a per-snap basis over the past two seasons and earned a pass-rush grade just behind Aidan Hutchinson in 2021. Bonitto produced 52 pressures on just 263 rushes this past year and was as effective the year before that.
His relative lack of size (248 pounds at the combine) may limit his role at the next level, at least early on, but what he does well is the most valuable aspect of being an NFL edge rusher. His ability to affect the quarterback should make him massively coveted. – Sam Monson, PFF
Highest pass-rush grade by a P5 Edge since 2019:
🥇 Nik Bonitto – 94.0
🥈 Aidan Hutchinson – 92.4 pic.twitter.com/iulun6cOv0— PFF Draft (@PFF_College) April 1, 2022
While the NFL sleeps on Nik Bonitto due to his size, whoever makes the decision to draft him is going to get one of the better pass rushers in the draft at a discount.
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