When Nik Bonitto was a Broncos rookie in 2022, he met up for the first time with fellow outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper.

Let’s just say he and Cooper, then in his second season, weren’t best buddies at the start.

“My first encounter with him was, ‘Why is he so angry?’’’ Bonitto said. “He’s always walking around with muscles popping out, like walking around angry. Like, what’s wrong with him?”

Eventually, though, Bonitto got to learn a lot more about Cooper.

“Once I got to peel back the onion skin, the layers, he was actually a good guy,’’ Bonitto said.

Flash forward to 2025. Bonitto, with 9.5 sacks, and Cooper, with 7.5, are the most productive pass-rush duo in the NFL. They will be on display Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High against Kansas City in a game that will be seen on CBS at 2:25 p.m. to nearly the entire nation.

The two have become best buddies. On the field, they celebrate a sack by the other as if it were their own. Off the field, the two hang out regularly. They go out to eat, watch movies, and attend concerts together.

“It’s a good bromance we got going,’’ said Bonitto, 26.

“He’s like a brother,’’ said Cooper, 27. “He’s one of the closest friends I’ve ever had.”

Cooper, though, was a bit miffed when he heard Bonitto talk about him walking around “angry” in 2022. Cooper, after all, has long been regarded as a friendly sort and in 2024 was named the Darrent Williams Good Guy Award winner, as voted on by the Pro Football Writers of America Denver chapter.

“I was always nice,’’ Cooper said. “I don’t know why he wouldn’t take me as a nice guy.”

Regardless, the friendship has been growing since 2022, when Bonitto came to Denver as a second-round pick out of Oklahoma. Cooper had arrived the previous season as a seventh-round selection out of Ohio State.

Bonitto struggled as a rookie, having just 1.5 sacks in 15 games with one start. He eventually began to heed Cooper’s advice.

“He taught me just to be a pro, really,’’ Bonitto said. “It was a gradual thing. I had my struggles as a rookie trying to learn and navigate everything. It was just about getting extra lifts, being able to study and prepare the right way. (Cooper taught) things like that.”

Cooper said it was a case of realizing how much ability Bonitto had.

“You could see the natural talent he had from Day 1,’’ Cooper said. “I knew that I had to put in a lot of extra work to get where I am. When you get to the league, you can’t rely on your talent so much. So he’s got to put the work in. I was just happy I was able to lead him in the right direction.”

By his second season of 2023, Bonitto had 8.5 sacks. He had a breakout year in 2024, getting 13.5. Now, after signing a four-year, $106 million contract extension in September to become the highest-paid player on the team, he is third in the NFL in sacks and could threaten Von Miller’s 2012 team record of 18.5 in a season.

Cooper, who last November signed a four-year, $54 million contract extension, has worked his way up gradually. He had 2.5 and 2.0 sacks, respectively, in his first two seasons as a part-time starter, before having a team-high 8.5 in 2023 and getting 10.5 last season.

“If there’s a better one, I can’t think of it,’’ CBS play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz, who will work Sunday’s game, said of Bonitto and Cooper being the best pass-rushing duo in the NFL. “They’re a force.”

The 17 sacks the two have combined for are the most by any NFL duo. Next are Houston defensive ends Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson, who have combined for 14.5.

“They’re a great duo, but I’m taking me and Cooper,’’ Bonitto said of being the top twosome in the NFL. “If you go around the league, I don’t think there are guys who can do it like us and play with the same mentality, the relentlessness.”

Cooper agrees.

“Those Houston guys are nice, but I don’t think they got us,’’ Cooper said. “I feel like with my power and his speed, we work really well together.”

The two regularly celebrate each other’s sacks. Then again, there is plenty of bantering back and forth in the locker room about who currently has more.

“We’re always teasing each other about who is higher and stuff but it’s all love and competitiveness,’’ Bonitto said.

Cooper said with a laugh, it’s “ticking me off” that Bonitto could finish ahead of him in sacks for the second straight year. He figures he’s “got to catch up to him.”

They also playfully argue about who has the faster get-off from the line of scrimmage. Both at first professed to be faster before both were willing to call it a tie.

“Honestly, it’s quite funny,’’ outside linebacker Dondrea Tillman said of the back and forth between Bonitto and Cooper. “They go on for hours about it. But it’s all love at the end of the day.”

In the stands during games, family members of Bonitto and Cooper pull equally for both players.

“When Nik gets a sack, his parents (Vince Bonitto and Sandra Penn) will say, ‘It’s Coop’s turn,’’ said Cooper’s mother, Jessica Moorman. “And then if Coop gets a sack, they’ll say, ‘Now it’s Nik’s turn.’’’

Moorman feels the same. She has been thrilled to see her son develop such a close relationship with Bonitto.

“They’ve formed a brotherhood,’’ she said. “It’s beautiful to see.”

Penn agrees.

“Nik is not a person who gravitates to people like that,” Penn said. “When I saw how close they got, I was like, ‘Wow. I couldn’t believe it.’ … Nik has always looked up to Coop.”

With their two sons having become such close friends, Penn and Moorman have also grown close. Penn lives in the Atlanta area and Moorman in Columbus, Ohio, but they see each other at games and communicate regularly.

“We text each other through the day,’’ Penn said. “If she sees something about Nik or I see something about Coop, I send it to her and she sends it to me and stuff like that. And we just talk about life stuff.”

Moorman said she was thrilled when she heard what Bonitto did shortly after he signed his big contract. As one way to show appreciation for all the help Cooper has given him, Bonitto checked out his locker when Cooper was gone and saw that he wears size 13 shoes.

Bonitto then ordered a pair of Kanye West Custom Birkenstock slides, which cost about $300, and presented them to Cooper. He wears them often.

“That was really nice and I appreciated it,’’ Cooper said of the gift. “That was really cool.”

Off the field, the two hang out regularly. They often go to dinner, which includes recent visits to steak houses and to Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen.

The two last month went to a Halloween carnival in Denver. They have gone to see the movie, “Weapons.” They have attended concerts, including seeing Travis Scott and Playboi Carti last month.

“We’re joined at the hip,’’ Bonitto said. “We do everything together.”

They also often meet at the quarterback during games. The Broncos have a league-high 46 sacks, putting them on pace to break Chicago’s 1984 NFL record of 72 in a season.

With Bonitto lining up on one side and Cooper on the other, Denver’s defense can be havoc on an opposing quarterback. Because opponents are focused so much on the two outside linebackers, that helps create chances for other players to get sacks. A staggering 16 players on Denver’s defense have sack stats this season.

“They’ve made big names for themselves in this league,’’ inside linebacker Justin Strnad, who has 3.5 sacks this season, said of all the attention paid to Denver’s two outside linebackers.

On Sunday, the Broncos will turn their attention to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The last time the Broncos faced Mahomes, both Bonitto and Cooper each had a sack, but Denver lost 16-14 when Wil Lutz’s 35-yard field goal was blocked on the final play at Kansas City on Nov. 10, 2024. Cooper has 3.5 sacks in his past five games against Mahomes.  

Bonitto had 2.0 sacks in his last game against the Chiefs, a 38-0 home win in the 2024 finale, which enabled the Broncos to clinch their first playoff berth since 2015. But Mahomes didn’t play in that game due to Kansas City having already clinched the top seed in the AFC playoff race.

That was the second game of Bonitto’s career with two or more sacks. He has added two more this season, getting 2.0 in Week 3 at the Los Angeles Chargers and 2.5 in Week 6 at Philadelphia.

“I feel like I get a sack whenever he gets one, seriously,’’ Cooper said. “I wish him the best in his career. I want him to reach all his goals. His speed is off the charts. He’s a great dude… I’m just overflowing with joy because I’m happy for him (whenever he gets a sack). I’ve seen the work that he puts in.”

So with all of that in mind, how could Bonitto once have considered Cooper an angry young man?

“He may walk around angry all the time but he’s a good guy,’’ Bonitto said. “I think it’s all just a front.”