Bo Nix’s first game in Denver represents his last step to securing the starting job.
He spent the past three weeks developing consistency, gaining ground and ultimately passing the competition. Now, he only needs to cross the finish line healthy on Sunday night against the Green Bay Packers to sit alone atop the depth chart.
Of course, this is only my educated speculation based on watching practices and the giddiness that crosses coach Sean Payton’s face when he talks about him.
It seems like an open secret. Everybody but Bo knows.
Nix has been everything the Broncos expected since he dropped their jaws in his private workout on March 18 in Eugene, Ore. The team’s interest percolated at the Senior Bowl in January. They came away impressed after a lengthy Zoom interview on March 7.
But when Nix threw the ball in Oregon, they left convinced he was the guy.
Payton puts a lot of responsibility on his quarterbacks with audibles. As Nix has grown more comfortable with the offense over the last five months, he’s looked the part. There is no smoke coming out of his helmet ear holes from information overload. He is comfortable calling the plays and is growing increasingly better at processing what he sees beyond the line of scrimmage.
“I am encouraged,” Payton allowed.
Nix’s Oregon teammates referred to him as their offensive coordinator on the field. Five play-callers in five college seasons taught him how to microwave his learning curve.
“It is steep, but you just have to adapt and welcome the change as much as possible,” Nix said on Friday. “You just kind of make things normal, make a new routine and get in there and study really hard.”
This is why Nix will be named the starter. He embraces the process. All the good ones do. He understands that playing quarterback in the NFL is a lifestyle. And, in a refreshing change from the past two seasons, he doesn’t talk in news conferences like he’s trying out phrases for motivational posters in a nearby dentist’s office.
Nix put himself in the mix with an adequate spring. He is now the most important ingredient.
The Broncos feel like an entirely different team in Payton’s second season. Even as external belief remains nonexistent, Payton fully plans to extend his streak of winning at least seven games to 17 straight seasons. He loves that this group is “young and dangerous.”
Nobody embodies that more than Nix. It’s why all signs point to him taking the first snap Sept. 8 in Seattle.
So why are we still discussing this?
It is, as Payton might say with tongue in cheek, a good question. He mapped out this process. It requires steps. He hasn’t named cornerback Riley Moss the starter, as we expect, opposite of Patrick Surtain II yet, either. Nor has he picked an inside linebacker between Cody Barton and Jonas Griffith or a top running back, though Javonte Williams is a clear front-runner.
This is the Parcells influence on Payton.
He recognizes he can’t win without stability and production from a quarterback, but he still gives the position the macro treatment. No one is bigger than the team. As such, he remains patient. The Broncos players and coaches know what their eyes are telling them. However, Payton has had no interest in rushing this, especially since he has never developed a first-round quarterback. The plan has always been to make Nix earn it.
Broncos Country should feel good about this because Nix has done just that. He hasn’t been treated with kid gloves. He has had to do the work, same as Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson, who both are in line to make the team.
It doesn’t mean Nix won’t suffer hiccups. Heck, there could be a few Sunday night. Regardless, there is enough evidence for a verdict. If there was any doubt, it was removed Thursday and Friday.
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He continued resembling the player he was during his final two seasons in Oregon. Thursday, it was hard to remember a ball touching the ground. Friday, Nix displayed rhythm in 7-on-7 vs. the Packers starters. The ball came out on time. He remained decisive. And, most importantly, there were no palm-to-face throws so common for rookies trying to force completions into coverage. Then, he really got hot in the red zone, drilling touchdowns to Phillip Dorsett — one of his best passes in camp — Tim Patrick and Michael Bandy. His decision-making was smart, his accuracy on brand.
The moment the Broncos drafted Nix 12th overall, adrenalin flooded the fan base and organization. It created cautious hope. Guarded optimism. Broncos Country desperately wants this to work but has been catfished by quarterbacks for the past eight years.
This feels different. The Broncos finally took their medicine and the right path. They moved on from several veterans and stopped pretending they were one player away from a deep postseason run. They absorbed the bigger cap hit on Russell Wilson this year, $53 million, leaving $32 million for the next. And they selected a first-round quarterback.
This is how franchises get back on track. They find the right coach. And identify the right quarterback. Enjoy your first in-person look at him, Broncos Country. The next time you see Nix at home he will be facing Wilson and the Steelers, providing a reminder that the future is much brighter than the past.
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