Everyone needs a boss to believe in them and Bo Nix certainly does.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton has trust in his young quarterback — a lot of it.
“He’s going to be one of the top four or five quarterbacks in the league the next two years,” Payton said in an interview with Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson. “That’s what we’re seeing right now. He doesn’t take sacks. He’s got exceptional arm strength. … He threw the longest ball — (67) air yards against Cincinnati. He can run. He can throw in funny body angles.”
Nix showed some tremendous flashes as a rookie, finishing his 17 games with 3,775 yards, 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, adding 430 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, too.
In college, Nix spent three seasons at Auburn and two with Oregon.
His final season with the Ducks was when he truly exploded to stardom, as he threw for 45 touchdowns with just three interceptions en route to a third-place Heisman Trophy finish. Nix led the nation in completions and completion percentage at 364 and 77.4, respectively.
While he was the 12th pick in the 2024 draft, there were still five other quarterbacks taken ahead of him — Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, Michael Penix and JJ McCarthy.
Payton seems to believe he’ll be the best of all of them.
Nix was the second-most successful rookie of the bunch last season, leading the Broncos to a 10-7 record and a playoff berth, a better outcome than any rookie quarterback and their team aside from Daniels and the Commanders.
Led by the 25-year-old quarterback, Payton has high hopes for the entire team, not just Nix.
“The short-term goal is winning the division,” he said. “But this is a team capable of winning the Super Bowl. I’ve coached six teams that I thought could win the Super Bowl. Some went to championship games, some to the playoffs … This is my seventh team that I think has that.”
Payton coached the Saints for 15 years and won one Super Bowl. He was the offensive mastermind who helped Drew Brees thrive as an all-time great quarterback.
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