Pat Surtain II, Nik Bonitto, Marvin Mims Jr.

When the Broncos defense has needed a big play this season, more often than not somebody has made one.

Nobody’s made more than cornerback Pat Surtain II and outside linebacker Nik Bonitto.

Thursday morning, that pair was recognized when they were named AFC Pro Bowl starters. So, too, was second-year return man Marvin Mims Jr., giving Denver a trio of starters in the NFL’s all-star game for the second straight year.

Surtain, like Mims, earned the starting nod for the second season in a row after authoring the most dominant campaign of his standout four-year career so far. Bonitto burst onto the scene in his third pro season, racking up 11.5 sacks in a 12-game span, and now has made his first career Pro Bowl.

Bonitto at 25 is the oldest of the three players and all figure to be major parts of Denver’s core group for years to come.

Bonitto went on a string of games in which he made decisive plays. He sealed a late-November win at Las Vegas with a strip sack, then scored touchdowns on a pick-six and a fumble return score the next two games against Cleveland and Indianapolis, respectively.

Surtain has put together one dominant outing after another. His 100-yard pick-six Week 5 against the Raiders remains a turning point in the season and he’s forced five turnovers despite being among the least-targeted defensive backs in football, according to Next Gen Stats.

Mims is being recognized for his return work — a 61-yard punt return set up Denver’s go-ahead touchdown in a critical win against the Colts — but he’s become a real offensive weapon in recent weeks, too. He’s now the Broncos’ second-leading receiver at 452 yards, and over the past six games he’s played at a 1,085-yard pace and caught three touchdowns.

The Broncos could see their number of representatives grow, unless they’re playing in the Super Bowl and therefore not sending anybody to the early February festivities in Orlando, Fla.

Denver has eight total alternates in the running, led by first alternates in right guard Quinn Meinerz and long snapper Mitchell Fraboni.