Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald Compares Broncos QB Bo Nix to Drew Brees

Bo Nix will only continue to be compared to Drew Brees if he delivers on the field.

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

It's not the first time he's heard it, and it won't be the last, but Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix has once again been compared to future Hall-of-Famer Drew Brees. Heck, even Sean Payton has made the comparison, and Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald is the latest to make the Brees/Nix connection.

With the Broncos opening up the 2024 regular season on the road at Macdonald's Seahawks on Sunday, his observations of Nix could give Sean Payton a hint of what to expect defensively.

"He plays on time," Macdonald said of Nix, via ESPN's Brady Henderson. "It seems like he makes a lot of fast decisions, and then kinda like Drew (Brees) was, he's an underrated athlete, just being able to move in the pocket, extend plays. It seems like he's really accurate. I think he has probably an underrated arm. He can deliver the ball just about anywhere. I think the decision-making, how fast he plays is probably one of the things they like about him."

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Macdonald also joined the ranks of actual NFL personnel who are giving Nix's arm props, rebutting the pre-draft tropes of his noodle arm. The Broncos felt like Nix could make all the NFL throws, and so far, he's lived up to that belief and the players and coaches around him are, in unison, saying the same thing.

For his part, Nix complemented Macdonald's squad, especially the Seahawks defense. Macdonald is in his first year as a head coach, having been hired as the former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator to succeed Pete Carroll in Seattle.

“I’m excited. Seattle’s a good team," Nix said on Wednesday. "They have a good defense returning [and] a lot of good players with a new scheme. It’ll be interesting to see what they come out and play. I think they’re going to be very well coached, and they’re going to be talented. It’s going to be a hostile environment, but it will be fun. It’ll be a good first game.”

Nix acquitted himself well in training camp and the preseason, vaulting his way up to the Broncos' starting job. But the ante is about to get upped considerably in Seattle, and Week 1 is just the tip of the NFL iceberg Nix will have to reckon with.

But like Brees before him, Nix's ace in the hole is the guidance of Payton. Together, Payton and Brees won a lot of games for the New Orleans Saints, including a Super Bowl. As exciting as the comparisons are, Nix will only continue to be linked to Brees if he delivers on the field.

Payton's rebuild of the Broncos couldn't begin until he got a quarterback in his image to serve as the cornerstone. It won't be easy for Nix — it's the NFL, after all — but the 24-year-old seems ready for the bright lights and expectations.

Broncos-Seahawks kicks off on Sunday at 2:05 p.m. MDT at Lumen Field.

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