Entering his rookie season, the NFL didn't have any tape of Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix. By the time the Broncos got to the second quarter of the season, though, opponents had the requisite materials to get acquainted with the enigma that is Nix.
And yet, Nix continued to grow — by leaps and bounds. His performance in the second frame of the season was arguably his best, finishing October as the Offensive Rookie of the Month.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton relishes the cat-and-mouse game of keeping defenses guessing.
“The defenses—I always enjoy this part of it. Now that they’ve had a season—in Week 4, there were four games [on tape]. [In] Week 8, there were eight games [on tape]. So, you see different looks based on who you play from an opponent standpoint," Payton said of Nix on Thursday following an OTA session at Broncos HQ.
With Nix entering Year 2, Payton dished on the traits that make the young quarterback so difficult to defend against, regardless of tape, which can neutralize opposing game plans designed to stop him.
"One of his traits that I think serves him well is his feet. He can move. It’s not always a clean pocket. I think when it gets a little muddy, he makes good decisions," Payton said of Nix. "He doesn’t hold onto the ball. His sack numbers were really good in college [and] they were really good last year. We anticipate that to be the same. So again, each week within the framework of our game plan, we’ll understand what we’re trying to do against the defense we play.”
Two of the traits Payton highlighted were a big part of the Broncos' attraction to Nix in the 2024 draft. He makes good decisions with the ball, getting it to the right playmakers and avoid bad decisions, and he's a "tough sack" — a phrase Payton has used to describe his young quarterback before his cleats ever hit the grass at Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit.
What really surprised Payton, though, was Nix's mobility. Sure, the Broncos recognized, especially from his time at Auburn, that Nix could move, but Payton and company fully slept on the quarterback's speed.
That speed and athleticism began to serve the Broncos well starting in Week 7 vs. the New Orleans Saints, when Payton deployed quarterback-designed runs to devastating effect. That wrinkle continued in the Broncos' game plan until Week 12 when Nix suffered a broken back vs. the Las Vegas Raiders.
We didn't learn about Nix's back injury until after the season, but it was noted (conspicuously so) that all of a sudden, the Broncos weren't calling any RPOs or QB-designed runs. Nix would still take off at times, using his legs as a scrambler to pick up those tough yards, but it wasn't designed.
Nix dealt with a couple of dings and bruises last year, but he's all healed up and rip-roaring to take on his second year in the NFL. It was important to the burgeoning franchise quarterback to take a step back from football during the early portion of the offseason to reset and recharge, which also helped him heal from the back and ankle injuries he nursed last year.
“For me, it was all about taking a break. I hadn’t really had a break in 18 months to two years. It's just a lot of winding down and getting your body right," Nix said on Thursday. "It's just like giving your legs some rest and not running every day. Giving your shoulder some rest and not throwing [as much]. I didn't throw a football for a while, but I was doing a lot of shoulder care and arm care and doing some rotational work and doing different things that were kind of replacing the throw."
So far, so good. Nix looks good at OTAs and the Broncos are primed to build on their from-out-of-nowhere 10-win playoff season. While skeptics still murmur about a potential sophomore slump from Nix, the Broncos have continued to build the nest around him, and he now has 18 games of NFL experience under his belt.
Payton's stewardship is the antedote to any possible Year 2 regression. For now, let the NFL world at large continue to sleep on Nix. It served him and the Broncos quite well last year.
