Out of the six quarterbacks taken in the historic first round of the 2024 NFL draft, Bo Nix was one of just two—alongside Jayden Daniels—to make the playoffs as a rookie.
Nix was the sixth and final quarterback taken off the board in the first round last year. While both Caleb Williams and Daniels were viewed as the consensus first and second picks, Nix wasn't even universally viewed as a first-rounder.
Reviews were mixed on Nix coming out of college, but few held him in as high regard as Broncos coach Sean Payton. It's been well-documented that Payton was enamored with Nix in the pre-draft process, and particularly his penchant for minimizing mistakes.
While speaking to on behalf of Mizzen + Main, Nix recalled Payton's intensity when he visited Oregon.
"He was very engaged in the conversation with what we were talking about, talking about my offensive principles, his, and how they can mesh," Nix said. "So I kind of had a feeling that he was intrigued. But at the same time, you never know in that process. So [I] was just doing my best to explain myself, share what I knew, and then I guess the rest was history."
The partnership between Payton and Nix began in those pre-draft meetings, and has only grown since. Many promising quarterbacks struggle in the beginning of their careers as a result of the coaching staff and environment they are brought into, but Nix has the confidence of a Super Bowl-winning coach that sought after him.
"It's great," Nix said of Payton. "It's great to play for a coach who is confident in you and feels comfortable with you out there leading the offense. He's taught me a lot. I'm able to go out there and just play free, be myself, and he just teaches me as I go. I always feel like I'm learning, always feel like I'm picking up on different things. He's just seen so much over time, and he's learned a lot, and as a coach, he's changed and adapted."
Beyond just learning from Payton, Nix has earned the trust in him to be able to push back, even when it means firing back at his coach on the sideline.
"We just communicate our needs, and we communicate our desires well," Nix said. "He'll tell me that he wants to do something, and we'll do it, and I'll maybe go to his office and say, 'Hey, I like how we used to run this play. What do you think about repping it again?' … So it's just open communication. And he really enjoys a quarterback that'll be open and honest with him about what plays we're running, or what plays that I want, what plays I that don't necessarily like, and he's open to all of it. He's been around a lot of quarterbacks, and so he's run a lot of different plays for a lot of different guys, and he's not just stuck to a few things just because he likes it."
The Nix-Payton relationship was the foundation of the Broncos' offensive success a season ago, and is only on track to keep growing as Year 2 begins on Sunday against the Titans.
"Going into year two," Nix said, "I feel like we're a lot more advanced than what we were."
