Four games into the 2023 season, Jonathon Cooper called fellow Broncos outside linebacker Nik Bonitto “one of the best players ever.”

Bonitto’s high school coach, Roger Harriott, said then “he has Pro Bowl and Hall of Fame’’ potential. Bonitto at the time was in his second season and coming off a 2.5-sack game at Chicago.

Still, those comments seemed to border on hyperbole.

Flash forward 1.5 years. While we can hold off on reserving a spot for Bonitto in Canton, Ohio, he certainly has ascended in rapid fashion.

Bonitto last season had 13.5 sacks and made the Pro Bowl, fulfilling half of what Harriott, once his coach at St. Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., had touched upon. Bonitto, who also was named second-team All-Pro, became just the eighth player in Broncos history to officially have a 13-sack season.

Now, Bonitto, who has one year left on his contract, is eligible for a lucrative extension and the Broncos are having discussions about it. A source said Bonitto is seeking in excess of $20 million per season. In the meantime, he reported for the April 21 start of offseason drills and is waiting to see how the process unfolds.

Bonitto’s total tied for the sixth-most sacks in a season in team history. The other members of the official 13-sack club are Von Miller, who did it four times and set the Broncos record of 18.5 in 2012; Simon Fletcher, who did it three times; and Elvis Dumervil, Rulon Jones, Karl Mecklenburg, Trevor Pryce and Alfred Williams.

The Denver Gazette talked to three members of the group in Fletcher, Mecklenburg and Price about Bonitto’s contract situation and his development into one of the NFL’s better pass rushers.

“They’re going to have to re-sign him and they’ll have to do all kinds of things to stick him under the salary cap, because he’s going to ask for the bag and he deserves it,’’ said Pryce, a defensive end who played for the Broncos from 1997-2005 and totaled 64 sacks. “If I ran an NFL team, when a guy like that happens, you sign him right now because the price is just going to go up. What are you waiting for? Him to get 17 sacks? It makes sense to sign him right now. It’s not like he’s going to all of a sudden forget how to play football.”

Fletcher, an outside linebacker who played with the Broncos from 1985-95, is second in team history with 97.5 sacks. He trails only Miller, who had 110.5 from 2011-21.

“He’s progressing well, and I think the future looks bright for him if we can keep in him in a Broncos uniform once his contract is up,’’ Fletcher said of Bonitto, who has 23.5 sacks in his first three seasons and is on the books to make a base salary of $5.346 million in 2024. “If he stays in orange and blue, I think he’s got a chance to push me down to third all time. It’s going to be a big chuck of change, but I think they’ll re-sign him if he wants to stay.”

Bonitto has told The Denver Gazette he wants to remain long term with the Broncos.

Following Miller and Fletcher, Mecklenburg, a linebacker who played for Denver from 1983-94, is third in team history with 79 sacks. He is hoping Bonitto will stick around well past 2025.

“They’re finally going to be out from under Russell Wilson next year,’’ said Mecklenburg, referring to the Broncos releasing Wilson in March 2024 and taking cap hits of $53 million in 2024 and $32 million in 2025. “They’re going to have some money to spend. And Nik, he’s a great pass rusher. If he’s a leader and a guy that can get to the quarterback and they want to count on him long term, tie him up for sure.”

Mecklenburg had the first official 13-sack season in Broncos history, getting 13 in 1985. Sacks became an official NFL statistic in 1982 but ProFootballReference.com has gone back and researched previous totals. Lyle Alzado, with an unofficial 13 in 1974, is the only Denver player listed with at least 13 in any season between the first year of the franchise in 1960 and 1981.

Living in the Denver area, Mecklenburg has seen Bonitto play plenty since he was a second-round pick out of Oklahoma in 2022 and had just 1.5 sacks as a rookie. He beefed that up to 8.5 in 2023 before finishing third in the NFL in 2024.

“I’m happy for him,’’ Mecklenburg said. “He finishes really well. That’s the one thing that’s hard to do. There’s a lot of guys who can kind of get back there, but to actually come through with the sack is a whole other step. He does a real good job with that.”

Fletcher’s top sack seasons were 13.5 in 1991, 16 in 1992 and 13.5 in 1993. He has lived mostly in Houston during Bonitto’s Broncos tenure but has followed the team closely and plans in October to move back for good to a home he owns in Platteveille.

“The thing I like the most and appreciate is his explosion off the ball,’’ Fletcher said. “Whenever the ball is snapped, he’s right in time with it and he’s got a half step to a step before his offensive lineman can get set. And that’s always an advantage when you can get that kind of explosive movement after the snap.”

Pryce had his top Broncos season in 1999, getting 13 sacks. After leaving Denver, he finished his career with Baltimore and the New York Jets from 2006-10, also registering 13 sacks for the Ravens in 2006.

Pryce lives in the Baltimore area. But he continues to follow the Broncos and met Bonitto when he returned to Denver in 2023 for the 25-year reunion of the 1998 Super Bowl champions.

“He plays like his hair is on fire,’’ Pryce said of Bonitto, listed at 6-foot-3, 240 pounds. “He is bigger than he looks. He doesn’t look 250 pounds or whatever it is. But he’s really dense. He plays really hard and bends the corner really fast. He’s really fast for his size.”

Bonitto’s speed helped him score two touchdowns last season. He had a 71-yard interception return for a score on Monday Night Football against Cleveland on Dec. 2 and in Denver’s next game brought back a 50-yard fumble return against Indianapolis on Dec. 15.

Sacks were consistent throughout the season for Bonitto. He broke into the sack column in 12 of the Broncos’ 17 games.

It all could translate into a big deal for Bonitto to stick around Denver for a long time. If that becomes the case, Fletcher said Miller, who is a free agent, might need to try to do something about it.

“Von Miller better re-sign so he can hold his (career sack) lead,’’ Fletcher said.