With the first wave of NFL mandatory minicamps wrapping up, many fans are now getting a better idea of how their team will look in the 2025 season. For Denver Broncos' quarterback Bo Nix, these series of workouts means showing off comfortability after his rookie year.
Broncos coach Sean Payton even highlighted the former Oregon Ducks' progression on the field, after a practice where Nix completed a particularly impressive pass to fellow former Duck, wide receiver Troy Franklin.
"Less pause, less hesitation with the play call in the huddle," Payton said of Nix. "Less pause, less hesitation in the pocket. He's playing fast. Again, protecting the ball. He's hard to sack. He was hard to sack in college. You're seeing him play faster with more confidence."
Mile High Sports' Cody Roark also posted a video of Nix to social media remarking that Nix put on some muscle during the offseason.
However, Roark echoed the thoughts of Payton after practice, as the reporter expressed that Nix still has the "explosive burst" for running despite bulking up.
According to Nix, one of the big factors for his physical transformation in the offseason is rest and relaxation. After injuring his back during a late season win against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Broncos' starter began his offseason break with an extended rest and recovery process. Nix says this rest period is something he hasn't done since starting his senior season at Oregon.
“It’s just a lot of kind of winding down and building the body back right,” Nix said during Broncos OTAs. “That doesn’t even mean fixing things that are hurt. It means giving your legs a rest and not running every day. It’s giving your shoulder a rest and not throwing every day. 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 that was kind of replacing throwing."
Nix also admitted he focused on his throwing mechanics when getting back into the groove of strength and conditioning. Nix credited whipping a towel and throwing a tennis ball against a wall helped him focus on how his arm moves during a pass, not just where the "ball" is going.
Offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi also remarked that Nix's body and mind are more in tune for his second year with the Broncos. According to Lombardi, Nix's understanding of the Broncos' offense has become second nature to the second-year starter.
“He had a completion on a play-action concept (in practice) that, last year, he probably wasn’t real comfortable with the footwork. He came back and said, ‘Man, it’s so great that I don’t have to think about the footwork.’ You can just feel the comfort level. He’s not thinking as much when you give him the play. He can get in and out of the huddle with a lot more comfort," Lombardi said of Nix.
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