Broncos QB Bo Nix Has a New Admirer in Bill Belichick

To hear this from arguably the greatest NFL head coach of all time is amazing.

Aug 18, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) scrambles with the ball in the first quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Empower Field at Mile High. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

As the Denver Broncos set sail into uncharted waters with their new starting quarterback, many analysts and former coaches have gone on record with how Bo Nix has impressed them. At this point, we can count legendary coaching icon Bill Belichick among the admirers of the Broncos' rookie quarterback and Sean Payton's hand-picked guy.

"Bo Nix looks a lot like, at Denver, like he looked at Oregon," Belichick said during a conversation with Michael Lombardi. "High completion percentage, can move the ball, can move the team. Athletic enough, and a good decision-maker. He doesn't hurt the team. I'm not saying that every play is the greatest play you've ever seen. But they're all solid plays, and he doesn't hurt the team. Doesn't turn the ball over and makes good decisions."

It's not the first time we've heard Belichick praise Nix, and it shouldn't come as that much of a surprise to hear the vaunted former head coach highlight the rookie's acumen within the short passing game, which is a hallmark, traditionally, of the Payton offense. Starting out with a tough road game vs. the Seattle Seahawks will require Nix to make positive plays and limit any negatives like turnovers. Not every play, as Belichick shrewdly pointed out, will need to be spectacular to achieve a win.

For all the cerebral traits that made Payton fall in love with Nix during the draft process, the Broncos head coach can now incorporate more aspects of the passing game that seemed to be beyond Russell Wilson last year.

Furthermore, Belichick has also seen that sneaky athletic ability that's been allowing Payton some early scope to push the envelope a bit farther with the 24-year-old.

"Yeah, it didn't seem like the game was too fast for him," Belichick said of Nix. "He actually looked pretty comfortable in there. I know it's preseason, he's not getting a ton of scheme, but he did what he could do and it's pretty impressive. Accuracy, especially on passes like screen passes, bubble passes, slants, things like that—those balls are on the money. They're accurate. Then there's a lot of yards after the catch."

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While it's highly unlikely that Payton will open up the offensive playbook entirely for his rookie passer just yet, if wins indeed materialize, the Broncos' intentions will get bolder. For now, the most immediate goal is to set the table with a season-opening win, which will require safely navigating the hostile "12th man" crowd at Lumen Field.

Nobody underestimates the enormity of the challenge at hand, but Payton sounds relaxed that Nix has enough previous experience to cope with what's about to confront him.

"It's going to be loud," Payton said earlier in the week. "I would imagine there will be some similarities to when Oregon goes to Washington and they're playing in front of however many thousand people. That's another loud stadium an hour down the road. So we'll deal with the crowd noise this week. This won't be the first game we play where it's loud."

Every journey begins with taking the first step.

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