John Elway & Peyton Manning Share Confidence in Broncos Naming Bo Nix QB1

Bo Nix has already earned some confidence and belief in the two most legendary Denver Broncos quarterbacks to come before him.

Jan 19, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos executive vice president of football operations John Elway and quarterback Peyton Manning (18) after the 2013 AFC championship playoff football game against the New England Patriots at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. / Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Bo Nix's ascension to the Denver Broncos' quarterback throne felt like it was just a matter of time, but it doesn't mean it wasn't hard-earned. Carrying forward the legacy of John Elway and Peyton Manning now comes as part and parcel of the complex responsibility the 24-year-old will shoulder.

Thus, it comes as some reassurance that the two greatest signal-callers in team history strongly feel that Sean Payton's hand-picked protégé can step up and do everything that will be asked of him. Nix will become the first rookie to start for the franchise since Elway faced down legendary Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Jack Lambert back in 1983 and trembled in his cleats.

The shadow of Elway continues to hang over the team, despite it being over 25 years since the "Duke" walked away from the game. The legendary Bronco sounds like a most enthusiastic supporter and advocate of what Nix can do when he spoke on Tuesday after the team's big announcement. 

"I think that you know, obviously, Bo is tremendously talented," Elway said after competing his round at a charity golf invitational. "He's played a lot of college football and so he's ahead of the curb when it comes to that. And I think Sean Payton will be great for him and then the offense that they're gonna run to protect him. I think they're pretty good in the offensive line—be able to run the football. So Bo is a mature guy and so, it's—it'll be fun to see them work. And like I said—Sean knows how to develop quarterbacks and I think they'll keep him in the right situations and not put too much on him, and allow him to continue to improve week in week out. I mean, Bo's gonna see it. It's a big jump from preseason to regular season. But hopefully, and I'm sure, he'll handle that well. He's gonna have his ups and downs as a young guy, which I had plenty of those, but I think that he's got all the talent and the will and the mind strength to be able to do it."

John Elway talks about Bo Nix being named the Denver Broncos' starting quarterback:

“He’s going to have his ups and downs as a young guy—I had plenty of those—but I think he’s got all the talent, will, and mind strength to be able to do it.”#BroncosCountry pic.twitter.com/hMg6kQzLuv

— Mile High Sports (@MileHighSports) August 21, 2024

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Elway believes that mountains of college experience can help Nix make a smooth transition to the NFL. That NCAA resume did much to draw Payton to the former Oregon man in the first place, but there's more to it than that.

Nix has an abundance of natural play-making talent that hid in plain sight behind the commonly held perception that he was just a short-passing, game-manager type of quarterback — first Auburn, and then Oregon.

As Elway also noted, Payton knows his apples from oranges when it comes to QBs. The Broncos head coach quickly spotted an athletic skill set in Nix, attributes that went a long way toward making him the 12th overall pick and the winner of Denver's quarterback competition.

All the hours spent trawling through college tape that Nix had compiled over 61 starts proved to Payton that his guy could work efficiently, and sometimes even explosively, from a, "dirty pocket."

"It's a great point. If you said, 'What were the two or three things that stood out on tape?' When we watched all of his Oregon film, at times there are going to be a little penetration," Payton said about critiquing NIx. "All of these guys in their pro days are showing us off-schedule throws. Some throws we would never even expect to do in a game. You saw in every game he played a dirty pocket, a quick plant step and ball out accurately. For some guys, that's hard to do, They need a full stride in a clean pocket. In each game, whether it was climb up, escape right [or] climb, escape left or just move a little and release it. It served him well relative to the sack numbers. He became a tough sack because the ball is out."

Irrespective of what the film showed, opposing teams will doubtless throw heavy pass-rush packages at Nix as soon as Week 1 in Seattle. In truth, they would do so with any rookie, so Nix will need all of those dirty pocket skills Payton referenced to execute under pressure. 

Furthermore, Elway's belief that Payton will play to Nix's core strengths will be absolutely crucial for delivering sustained success over a 17-game season, where all the inevitable ups and downs will have to be navigated. While there's bound to be a steep learning curve now that Payton has named Nix as his starter, Manning's sage words should also resonate with the Broncos' talented rookie.

"The Sheriff" had his own well-documented struggles as a rookie starter with the Indianapolis Colts. Ironically, he still holds the NFL's single-season record for rookie interceptions.

Despite his own failures as an inexperienced starter, Manning feels that jumping straight in at the deep end can be a massive benefit to a rookie QB, especially if it's over a longer time frame and they're receptive enough.

"Hey, he's had a great camp, had a great offseason," Manning said of Nix. "He's used the time. You knew his experience, his maturity would be an advantage for him, and he's picked up the system quickly. You can tell, I saw Sean on Monday, and he shared some things too, just that Bo has really kind of answered his challenge and answered the bell. So happy for him. What a great opportunity. I know what that's like, you know, starting as a rookie in your first NFL game, but he'll be ready and pulling hard for him."

Can Bo Nix become the next Peyton Manning for Broncos Country? Here's what The Sheriff himself said of the rookie as Denver's new starting QB ⬇#9sports #BroncosCountry pic.twitter.com/9eeC2jHNWM

— 9NEWS Sports Denver (@9NEWSSports) August 21, 2024

Fundamental to the entire process will be how forensically Nix can continue to get the system down, and be sensitively guided along by his head coach — trust Manning on that part. Manning also knows how important it will be to lean on what Nix's teammates can do in the more crucial moments.

"You know, look, he doesn't need any advice from me," Manning said. "He knows he's going to have to lean on his teammates and the veteran players have got to help him, right? They got to do their part. They got to play good D, got to run the ball, got to make some plays for him. But, look, he'll be ready. He's, you know, as Sean said, he's been a great student. The cerebral part of the game, he's picked up. And look, it's a marathon, not a sprint as a rookie. But I'm a fan of playing right away. Getting the experience is only going to make him better

As far as support networks go — with so many legends already in his corner — it could be said that Nix has a discernible advantage over many other rookies who have gone before him.

Elway and Manning included.

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