Getty Bo Nix #10 of the Denver Broncos and Drew Brees #9 of the New Orleans Saints.
The Denver Broncos hope rookie first-round pick Bo Nix is the long-term solution at quarterback.
Selecting Nix when they did – with the No. 12 overall pick of the 2024 draft – raised some eyebrows. The quarterback received varying evaluations about what he is as a player and what he can develop into.
Positively, pre-draft comparisons to 13-time Pro Bowler Drew Brees made the rounds.
Following a recent practice during mandatory minicamp, Head Coach Sean Payton addresses those comparisons between his former star quarterback and his hopeful future one.
“Their personalities are different,” Payton told reporters on June 4 when asked for similarities between Brees and Nix. “We’re looking for similarities, so I would say mentally. He [Nix] wants to know as much as fast as he can. He’s the son of a coach. Now, Drew wasn’t necessarily the son of a coach. But this group of quarterbacks in general are kind of like gym rats.
“There’s maybe a maturity level because, again, he’s [Nix] played 61 games. And when we got Drew, it was off of his rookie contract um coming off an injury. So, yeah. He locates the ball well he’s accurate and I think Drew was.”
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Nix, 24, is the oldest of the six quarterbacks drafted in the first round this year.
But Brees was a 27-year-old with three 3,000-yard seasons – a benchmark for the time – and one Pro Bowl to his resume when he signed with the Saints in free agency in 2006.
Sean Payton Delivering on Draft Guru’s Prediction
GettyQuarterback Bo Nix #10 and Head Coach Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos.
Whether or not Nix can be the Broncos’ version of Brees will be determined in time. But Payton has been consistently positive when discussing how Nix has done so far.
Nix is the highest-drafted rookie Payton has ever coached.
“He’s farther along than most would be,” Payton told media members after OTAs on May 23. “We’re talking about a player who’s played 61 games [in college]. He’s extremely smart. He’s picked it up very quickly.”
The similarities between Nix and Brees were plentiful, with noted NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. also suggesting Payton could notice them.
“I think Sean Payton will see a lot of Drew Brees in Bo Nix,” Kiper said, per The Athletic’s Nick Kosmider on March 22. “Very similar hand size. Drew was 6-foot-and-a-half, Bo is 6-2. But they’re both 215 (pounds).
“Whether Sean sees that or not, I don’t know. If I were in his shoes and I had Drew Brees, I’d see a little bit of that in a guy like Bo Nix.”
Bo Nix Has Doubters in Broncos Country
GettyQuarterback Bo NIx #10 of the Denver Broncos.
For his part, Brees had fun with the idea he was a non-athletic version of what Nix could be at his peak. Not everyone is sold on Nix as a franchise quarterback, though. The Denver Post’s Troy Renck projected the former Oregon Duck as a “fringe starter and reliable backup.
“There are a number of reasons why Nix could fit as the 12th overall pick, most notably his athleticism, toughness and experience,” Renck wrote on April 6.
“My issues with Nix are two-fold: value and projection. He is not a top-12 player in this draft even when pretzling logic because of the importance of the position. Watching Nix’s games, I struggle to see how it will consistently translate because of his so-college offense of slants, sticks and picks.”
Again, the true test for Nix and the Broncos as a whole will come when the games count.