Oregon HC Touts Broncos QB Bo Nix's 'Special' Tools & Traits

Dan Lanning knows what he's talking about when it comes to Bo Nix.

May 23, 2024; Englewood, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) during organized team activities at Centura Health Training Center with OC Joe Lombardi observing. / Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

When a rookie quarterback enters the conversation for a starting job in the NFL, chaos is likely to follow. After kicking Russell Wilson to the curb and swallowing the dead money on his paycheck, the last thing the Denver Broncos need is turbulence.

Rookie first-rounder Bo Nix might be the chosen one to put a steady hand on the controls for Sean Payton in Denver. But it might get a little more chaotic before it stabilizes at Broncos HQ. Training camp will reveal all.

As the NFL summer has marched on, Broncos fans continue to search for outliers on how Nix will hold up under much closer scrutiny. Perhaps it slipped past unnoticed last month during an appearance with Colin Cowherd, but Oregon head coach Dan Lanning dropped pure gold on how his former quarterback will set himself up to succeed.

"I'm gonna miss the person," Lanning told Cowherd. "He's a special individual. He's as good of a person as I've ever met. His wife Izzy is unbelievable. He came here with a different level of maturity, already married. I felt like we had another coach in the building. What separates Bo is how much time he puts into his work. He watches more film than coaches. There's no one that's going to step on the field more prepared than Bo. And then the way he practices every day, the level of intensity. His commitment to being great, it really kind of spread throughout our program."

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In the face of repeated critiques that the Broncos 'reached' for Nix at No. 12 overall in the draft, the Payton coaching staff has been unbothered by the noise. The Broncos have seen what they expected from the 24-year-old up to this point.

"I would say, you can feel his 61 games played in college," Broncos offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said during OTAs. "With experience, a calmness comes along with it. So he certainly doesn't feel like a rookie. He's learning a brand-new system, so whether you're a veteran or a rookie coming in, that's common to all these people." 

In truth, Nix is the product of exceptional circumstances, as evidenced by his record-setting 61 NCAA starts spread over tenures at Auburn and Oregon.  When you factor in how the pandemic turned the sporting world upside down, you start to understand more clearly why Nix arrived with the Broncos with no curveballs.

"The good thing is there haven't been a lot of surprises," Lombardi said of Nix. "What we thought we saw, we hoped we saw, I think has shown itself this spring. So maybe a little bit more of a dry sense of humor as you get to know the guy better, but as far as a player, I think what we saw and what we hoped we were getting, so far he's been as advertised."

At Oregon, Nix played his way onto the NFL radar with a calm assurance, and his new offensive coordinator is now seeing that up close. Lanning's observations about Nix, his maturity level, and his grounded family life are particularly telling and could set him apart from his fellow 2024 rookie quarterbacks.

It's fair to say that Payton and company have hedged their bets by handpicking Nix to lead the franchise into a bold new future. Sure, the Broncos are well aware that their prized rookie will make some mistakes, but there is a general feeling that he's already climbed up a rung or two on the ladder.

"He has seen a lot and doesn't make the same mistake twice very often," Lombardi said. "There is a maturity level. I think when you draft a guy who is a little bit older, you hope that that comes with it, but he's certainly shown that."

In his final season at Oregon, Nix passed for 4,508 yards and 45 touchdowns, with just three interceptions. He completerd 77.4% of his passes, garnering a 188.3 passer rating.

Nix also rushed for 234 yards and six touchdowns. Although he came up short in the Heisman Trophy voting, he finished as a finalist, taking third place. LSU's Jayden Daniels would win the Trophy, before hearing his name called at No. 2 overall in the draft by the Washington Commanders.

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