LONDON — As a shameless troll, Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto owes a creative debt to a dead poet from merry old England.

“No way!” said Bonitto, refusing to believe it.

Bonitto is the NFL sacks leader in 2025.

Geoffrey Chaucer was an English poet who died 825 years ago.

“Chaucer?” Bonitto said. “Never heard of him.”

But a long dead poet and the Broncos’ rising football superstar were put on this earth to entertain us.

For those of you keeping score at home, Bonitto has recorded seven sacks in five games already this year, putting him on pace to shatter the single-season franchise record of 18.5 set in 2012 by Von Miller, his childhood hero.

And for those of you who dozed off in the back of class during high school, Chaucer began writing 24 stories in 1387 that have long been revered as “The Canterbury Tales” and earned him the title as the father of English literature.

Now what in the world could possibly be the link between Bonitto and Chaucer?

Good question.

And it’s precisely what Bonitto wanted to know as he looked quizzically at a goofy, gray-haired sportswriter as I started rambling about a dead poet from the Medieval Times after a Broncos practice in preparation for their game in London against the New York Jets.

The answer is a viral meme that is sweeping America by storm and driving the parents of middle-school boys absolutely bonkers.

6-7! Six-Seven! 6 … 7!

So what the heck does 6-7 mean?

Heck if anyone really knows.

There’s one theory that the contagious catchphrase was born from lyrics in the song “Doot Doot” by rapper Skrilla, while other pop culture analysts insist it’s nothing more than a silly tribute to the height of pro basketball player LaMelo Ball. 

“It’s nonsense,” Bonitto said. “Nobody knows exactly what it means.”

In a world where the internet is rotting all our brains, maybe that’s the beauty of it.

The hippest use of 6-7, however, is accompanied by a silly hand gesture. Open hands in front of the chest. Palms up. Then rapidly pantomime like milking a cow. Or batting air-filled balloons into the sky.

Which brings us to Bonitto, a football sackmeister and happy prankster.

To commemorate his sacks, Bonitto doesn’t have a signature sack dance. He instead likes to be creative and switch up his celebration to fit the moment.

For example: Bonitto flapped his arms like an eagle after sacking Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts during Denver’s recent 21-17 upset victory against the reigning league champions.

“A lot of my friends would tell you: I’m a big-time troller,” Bonitto admitted to me. “I love to troll people. Whether it’s fans from the other team or whether it’s just trying to come up with something silly from social media, I’m always trying to find ways to be creative.” 

A week earlier, after tackling Bengals quarterback Jake Browning in the Cincinnati backfield, Bonitto stood in the middle of Empower Field at Mile High and did the 6-7.

“That (celebration) was planned,“ Bonitto confessed. “I be on TikTok all the time. So I know the TikTok crowd would’ve loved it if I did the 6-7.”

Well, that’s certainly true.

But so is this: Everything old is new again.

More than 11 centuries ago, Chaucer was actually the first person to popularize the term 6-7 as an entertainment device.

Way back in the 14th Century, when Chaucer was busting rhymes, he penned a poem called “Troilus and Criseyde.” (You remember that one, don’t you?)

When Chaucer got his flow vibing with the beat, he wrote the phrase “to set the world on six and seven.”

It was a reference to a game of chance popular in those ancient times. And the phrase meant to risk everything on a throw of the dice.

“He was the first guy to use 6-7?” Bonitto said. “No way I would’ve known that.”

Well, if you ask me, any NFL quarterback who takes a snap across the line of scrimmage from Bonitto and drops back to pass is taking a roll of the dice, risking life, limb and maybe a fumble from a strip sack.  

The origin of 6-7 goes back more than a millennium.

“Would any kid today know about that? Oh, heck no!” said Bonitto, laughing.

Bonitto and Chaucer.

Linebacker and poet.

NFL sacks leader and the original rapper.

They’re kindred spirits.

“Now I know,” Bonitto said.