The Denver Broncos are already having to circle the wagons a bit amid shots taken at second-year quarterback Bo Nix. His head coach, Sean Payton, was not standing for it, though, sticking up for his young passer.
The comments came from Pro Bowl defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons of the Tennessee Titans, the Broncos’ Week 1 opponent.
According to Simmons, Nix is a one-read-and-go QB, and Payton disagrees.
Broncos HC Sean Payton Rejects Bo Nix Narrative
GettyBo Nix #10 of the Denver Broncos looks on before a game against the Cleveland Browns.
Nix set numerous Broncos franchise records, passing for 3,775 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions as a rookie. He also had 430 yards and 4 TDs on 92 carries, which were the fifth most among all QBs during the 2024 regular season.
Nix and the Broncos leaned on his unexpected running ability, with the QB tallying 11 games with five or more carries on the season.
That is not the same as saying Nix would only go through one read before running.
“I hear the discussion a lot relative to [comments like], ‘Now that they’ve had a… Now that they’ve had a…’ I don’t know. I think when you get to Week 10 and Week 11, you’ve ‘had a’ everything,” Payton told reporters on September 3. “Some of the things happen spontaneously. I would disagree that he’s just a first read. I know for a fact that’s not the case. Now, is he confident in his movement skills? Yeah, and we’ll get a chance to see them on Sunday.”
Simmons’ comments came in response to a direct question about how the Titans have worked to improve what was the league’s third least-productive pass rush after tying the Carolina Panthers with 32 sacks as a team.
“QBs excelled at finding running lanes and making big gains vs the #Titans last season,” ESPN’s Turron Davenport posted on X on September 1, framing Simmons’ response.
The Titans faced the seventh-most rushing attempts and sixth-most yards from QBs in 2024.
“The biggest thing, I guess, we were just saying we know Bo Nix is going to – if his first read not there, he’s going to take off, running with the football. So we got to make sure we’re on the same page, we got to make sure we have a balance of rushing. Not trying to be robots out there. But at the same time, we know that if it’s not there, Bo Nix gonna take off running,” Simmons told reporters on September 1.
“It’s going to be on us up front to make sure we keep him in the well and keep him in the pocket.”
Notably, Nix will be backed by a Broncos defense that led the league with a franchise record 63 sacks in 2024. They will similarly be looking to disrupt Titans QB Cam Ward, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2025 draft.
Another Legend Endorses Broncos Captain Bo Nix
GettyBo Nix #10 of the Denver Broncos leaves the field after facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
For the second season, Nix is one of the Broncos’ captains. That endorsement from his teammates comes amid a slew of supportive comments from legendary quarterbacks Drew Brees and Peyton Manning.
Another iconic passer, Kurt Warner, is part of the chorus.
While Warner believes the Broncos must show that their offseason improvements will have the desired impact. Moreover, while Nix must continue developing, the QB is the real deal.
“Everybody believes their defense is championship caliber with the way those guys played (last year). Bo has to take another step to be a championship quarterback. He showed a great deal as a rookie. He has to be a little better and more consistent in the biggest settings, the close games,” Warner, who helmed the “Greatest Show on Turf” en route to the Super Bowl in 1999, told The Denver Post’s Troy Renk in comments published on September 3.
“When you look at rookie quarterbacks, one of the things that pops out is whether they make good decisions. Bo didn’t take sacks or put the ball in harm’s way. And he ramped it up as the season went along. But he needs more around him, and I don’t think they had those pieces last year.”
Warner’s words should hold weight for Nix and the Broncos. Nix absorbed 24 sacks during the regular season, the fewest among any rookie QB with at least five starts. The Broncos boasted the No. 10 scoring offense during the regular season.
However, they were also 1-6 in one-score games.
Nix and the Broncos could only muster 7 points (albeit, historically) in the AFC Wild Card Playoffs against the Buffalo Bills.
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