2 reasons Broncos fans shouldn't be concerned with Bo Nix after loss to Steelers
09/18/2024 01:17 AM
After watching rookies like CJ Stroud and Justin Herbert immediately hit the ground running right out of the gates, fans in the Mile High City had incredibly high hopes for Bo Nix in 2024.
Widely dubbed an ideal fit for Sean Payton’s offense, fans cheered as he fell into the team’s lap in the draft, with the Atlanta Falcons shocking the world by drafting Michael Pennix Jr. eighth overall and the Vikings trading up to pick JJ McCarthy when Nix was still on the board. No need to move up to make a selection, no need for a gap season with a veteran journeyman like Gardner Minshew and the Las Vegas Raiders, just a genuine shot at a well-traveled rookie who spent the last five years in college and the next five under contract the with Broncos.
The only problem? Nix has looked darn bad thus far as a pro, so much so that some have openly questioned if he should even start next week in Tampa Bay.
Fortunately, while Nix may not be perfect, he is the perfect man to lead the Broncos onto the field against the Buccaneers and moving forward, too, as the team simply doesn’t have another option with more overall upside that they could roll with during this developmental season.
Bo Nix is the Broncos’ best quarterback in 2024
On paper, Nix might just be the worst quarterback in the NFL through the first two weeks of the season, right up there with recently benched Panthers pick Bryce Young.
He’s tied for the most interceptions in the NFL at four, hasn’t thrown a single touchdown, and, despite having had some success moving the ball down the field, having completed 46 passes on 77 attempts for 384 yards, he’s been sacked four times, has a QBR of 35.7, and simply doesn’t have the infrastructure in place to do much about it, as the Broncos aren’t going to magically get any better over the next few months.
Would it make sense to pull the plug on Nix and give the ball over to a veteran hand in the hopes of saving the season, allowing the Oregon product to learn from the sidelines instead of under center while gaining a better grasp of the NFL game? Sure, that’s the plan the Panthers are attempting with Young right now, but here’s the thing: The Broncos don’t have a backup quarterback like Andy Dalton who has won dozens of games at the NFL level or taken multiple teams to the playoffs.
No, as of right now, the Broncos have Jarrett Stidham, who is a journeyman backup at this stage of his career, and Zach Wilson, who was repeatedly given chances to play for the Jets since being drafted second overall and has routinely made his team regret that decision. Are either of those players going to win more games than Nix?
Or what about signing a player off the street like Ryan Tanahill, who is a sort of Dalton-esque veteran? Does he move the needle in a very tough division with no time to prep and a 0-2 deficit?
At this point, rolling with Nix is not just the Broncos’ best choice, but likely their only choice to turn things around.
Fortunately, unless you are incredibly optimistic – or unrealistic – you likely assumed that the Broncos wouldn’t be very good this year, that starting the sixth quarterback taken in the 2024 NFL draft was going to be a process, and that, for the sake of the franchise, giving as many snaps as possible to Nix is what’s best for Denver, as best case he figures it out and becomes a long-term player and worse case, the team loses a lot of games and get to pick a new quarterback, someone like Cam Ward or Carson Beck, in the future.
If this season was about anything other than setting a strong base for the future, then why did the Broncos trade away Jerry Jeudy? This year was always about giving Nix a long leash to grow while the front office identifies keepers for the future, and pulling the plug now would seriously impact that plan before it can even be executed fully.
Sean Payton still believes in Bo Nix
While fans of the Broncos are going out of their way to voice their displeasure with Nix under center, with some, like Vincent Frank of Forbes, formally asking the team to bench their rookie passer, one person who still believes that the journeyman collegiate quarterback can still have a long-term home in Denver is Sean Payton, aka the man in charge of the depth chart.
Discussing Nix’s play in Week 2 on Monday with reporters, Payton revealed that while everything didn’t go the team’s way, he’s proud of his quarterback for fighting, as that’s the mentality needed to succeed at the position in the NFL.
“I thought he processed pretty quickly yesterday. I thought he got into some of his progressions really well. At the line, he’s in charge of a handful of things,” Payton explained.
“Couple things you see on tape. You see early on, us struggle inside, which forces him out of the pocket. Then you do see later in the second half a cleaner pocket and then him hurry it. So it’s developing the confidence of climbing, developing the confidence within the framework of your protection. He does have good pocket presence for the most part. He’s not someone that’s just going to look to take off and look to scramble. We’ve got to build on that and make sure it kind of begins with that relative to the design of what you’re trying to do in the drop-back passing game.
“He’s been through the firestorm, if you will. You’re better prepared, you’re better served when it comes around again. … We’re not in that position right now. Obviously, we would have liked to have started better, but my point is he’s someone that I think by nature is confident in his preparation, in his ability and is not going to be discouraged easily, if you will.”
While Nix’s success or failure won’t solely belong to his head coach, as he has to produce with the players he has around him in the scheme he was drafted into, if Payton believes he can be the guy, he won’t be without chances to do just that. What he does with those chances, however, will define his career one way or the other.
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