The Denver Broncos made a bit of a polarizing selection by taking Oregon football quarterback Bo Nix with the No. 12 pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but head coach Sean Payton named him the starter, and he reflected on a play that made him fall in love with Nix during the draft process.
“There was a play that I've never seen before where the guard was blocking a three-technique and he kind of climbed and he actually slipped under between the guard and the three-technique, came out the other side and threw it,” Sean Payton said, according to Jon Heath of Broncos Wire. “… I just had never seen that ever happen. It was the first time I ever saw it in my life where the quarterback kind of ducked between the rusher and the blocker and kind of came out the other end.”
Payton was seemingly referencing a play that Bo Nix made during Oregon's blowout win over California last season, where he dipped between a rusher and his offensive lineman.
Now, after two good showings in the preseason against the Indianapolis Colts and Green Bay Packers, Nix is going to start for the Broncos in Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks on the road.
Bo Nix's reaction to being named Broncos' starting QB
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When asked about the play that Payton brought up, Nix had a funny response to what his head coach observed.
“I'm not quite sure which one [Payton] is talking about, but I guess it's good if I'm — I guess it could be a good and bad thing if I'm making plays he has never seen before,” Nix said, according to Heath. “I think that's one thing that I enjoy about Coach Payton. He is going to be real. … When I mess up, he's going to tell me that I looked terrible and when it was good, he's going to tell me that it was good. That is the kind of feedback that I like, and I'm excited to continue to work with him. It was fun on Sunday hearing him call plays for the first time. That's how it is going to be. Practicing that and getting used to it was cool.”
The Broncos are hoping that Nix can be the franchise quarterback that the franchise has been looking for since Peyton Manning retired. It was supposed to be Russell Wilson, but that did not work out. It will be interesting to see how Nix fares this season.
