Broncos’ Sean Payton Has Strong Reaction To Bo Nix’s Debut

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix went through his first set of practices this week, as he participated in the team’s rookie minicamp this weekend.

Broncos head coach Sean Payton is liking what he is seeing from Nix early on.

“So much of it is huddle, snap count, break the huddle, under center, shotgun, it’s a process,” Payton said, via Jeff Legwold of ESPN. ” … He’s handling the install well, he had a pretty good practice today, he’s grinding through it, he’s doing good with it.”

Denver selected Nix with the 12th overall pick of the NFL Draft late last month.

Nix was the sixth and final quarterback off the board in the first round, but apparently, Payton and the Broncos had him third on their draft board behind Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels. Williams and Daniels went Nos. 1 and 2 to the Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders.

Payton was impressed with the University of Oregon product during the pre-draft process, and he seems equally impressed with him now.

“He had two or three down the field throws [Saturday],” Payton said. “It’s almost like watching a good golfer when you watch his game … there’s a patience to how he plays, the ball comes out.”

Nix is coming off of a fantastic 2023 campaign in which he threw for 4,508 yards, 45 touchdowns and three interceptions while completing 77.4 percent of his passes. He also rushed for 234 yards and six scores.

As for whether or not Nix will be the Week 1 starter? It’s way too early for Payton to discuss that.

“We’ll figure it out, we’ll figure it out,” Payton said. “… We’ll have a rotation and we’ll go from there.”

Nix began his collegiate career at Auburn in 2019 and spent the first three years of his career there before transferring to Oregon in 2022.

The 24-year-old enjoyed a spectacular debut season with the Ducks, totaling 3,593 yards, 29 touchdowns and seven picks while completing 71.9 percent of his throws. He added 510 yards and 14 scores on the ground.

Denver has been searching for a franchise quarterback ever since Peyton Manning retired after the 2015-16 campaign. The Broncos have not made the playoffs since, due much in part to the fact that they have had their fair share of struggles under center.

We’ll see if Bo Nix can be the fix that Denver needs.