Broncos RB Jaleel McLaughlin Hints at How Bo Nix is Coaching Him

Bo Nix is coaching up Jaleel McLaughlin? Sean Payton must be doing something right.

Jul 26, 2024; Englewood, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) during training camp at Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit. / Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton's second training camp has seen him offer up several realistic assessments of what he expects from his players. It's not his first rodeo, so Payton is working endeavors to smooth these rookies' transition from the college game to the NFL.

Much of that scrutiny is focused on Bo Nix's ongoing development. In a curious development, it would seem that the student has already become the teacher, as Broncos running back Jaleel McLaughlin revealed on Monday.

McLaughlin was asked about Nix's command in the huddle, and after complimenting his rookie quarterback's maturity, the second-year back let slip that he's also learning from the former Oregon star.

"I would say he’s teaching me things as well. So I think that’s just a testament of who that guys is in Bo," McLaughlin said. "He’s a hard worker, focused and laser sharp. It’s fun back there with him.”

What exactly is Nix teaching McLaughlin?

“I won’t go into specifics, but it’s a lot of different things in my route running that he’s been teaching me," McLaughlin said of Nix.

The Broncos are hoping to put Nix's football IQ to work for the larger benefit of the club in 2024 and beyond. While the rookie quarterback continues to impress his teammates, coaches, and onlookers, Payton's explanation of a young running back's NFL leap only further reveals how much there is to learn.

"I would say pass protection and then identification. The fronts and the pressure looks become a little more challenging, a little bit more difficult. So pass protection is one" Payton outlined last week. "Then I think ball security is one because at this level there's such an emphasis of taking the ball away. Then you begin to identify, 'What type of runner are you going to be?' They're not all going to be the same. I do think there's a change and the first thing that comes to my mind is the protection."

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Most of the growth factors in pass protection that Payton identified scream of McLaughlin's development — a player Payton wants to trust enough to play him more often. In order for the former college free agent to really grow into a potential "joker" candidate Payton covets, McLaughlin has to make strides forward as a pass blocker and receiver, which is why Nix's tutelage can only help.

"This gets back to the discussion of [TE Greg] Dulcich blocking power," Payton explained. "I don't want to be in a game where he [McLaughlin] is having to fit up four times on a linebacker rush, but he's going to have to periodically," Payton admitted McLaughlin will have to step-up in Pass Pro. "We might be in two-minute offense, and he has to handle the pickup. There will be a number of times where he's going to get a free release and he's going to be out, but it can't always be. In other words we can't have that self-scout when he's in, he's always out because they [the opponent] can then scheme that."

McLaughlin has forced his way into Payton's good graces through diligence and rapt attention.  Embracing the hard grind and investing some of his signing bonus in a good alarm clock paid handsome dividends for McLaughlin during his rookie campaign, helping him to make the roster and rush for 410 yards.

Resting on his laurels during the offseason wasn't part of the 23-year-old's DNA either, so McLaughlin put down a further $4,750 on a Jugs machine to help hone his pass-catching skills in his garage at home.

"I'd just go out and catch 250 balls every day during January, February, March, right after the season," McLaughlin said via Parker Gabriel ofThe Denver Post. "I was just catching, catching, catching. Different angles, different balls so that I can improve my catching."

Adding some equipment to his football laboratory was aimed at polishing up a part of his skill set that McLaughlin seldom used as he was breaking NCAA rushing records. Up to this point in training camp, his determination to get better is resonating once again with Payton, so you could say it's been money well spent.

"I've just seen a growth," Payton said of McLaughlin. "When you're undrafted, [you think], 'I think I can play here.' Then you have some success—'Yes, I can play here.' Then in Year 2, it's like, 'Man, I expect to play well here.' You can just feel that with him each day there's something we see. He made a catch over here earlier and he's really having a good camp. Again, he's still the first one on campus. He and then the 24-hour security guard who was here since midnight. So he's first and then Jaleel is second."

Payton always talks about McLaughlin with such warmth and affection that you just know he's becoming one of his favorites, but delivering when the regular-season chips are down is all that really matters.

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