During the 2024 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos selected Oregon quarterback Bo Nix with the No. 12 overall pick. Nix is only a rookie, but a tremendous amount of pressure is being put on the young quarterback. With the Broncos enduring a carousel of QBs since the retirement of Peyton Manning in 2016, fans are desperate to find someone to lead the franchise. Despite the pressure, Nix has thoroughly enjoyed his time in the NFL so far.
“It's been great,” Nix told DenverBroncos.com. “It's been really fun. I think it's been a great learning curve. It's been all the things that I always thought of the NFL: [the] long, extensive plays with a lot of checks and all this kind of stuff. That's the fun part, and that's what you can't wait to get to the NFL and do. The players are awesome, coaches are great and I'm just excited to be here.”
Before transferring to Oregon, Nix played some college ball at Auburn. His time at Oregon would end up being the best years of his career statistically. Despite having less-than-ideal seasons with Auburn, Nix still credited working in multiple schemes and systems for helping prepare him for the NFL. However, his transition to the NFL hasn't been all smooth sailing.
“Some moments I struggle, sometimes I feel like I'm excelling. It's just a happy medium of still feeling like a rookie and everything still feeling new. It's just repetition,” said Nix. “Going over everything many times, and it's finding ways to connect it with my brain and what I've done in the past. But I think the overall experiences and the knowledge that I have playing in many systems and many offenses and on many teams with many players, I think that's just all going into helping make the transition better.”
Broncos quarterback competition set to take off during training camp
One of the biggest questions the Broncos have heading into the season is who will be their starting quarterback. Aside from Nix, the Broncos also have Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson on the roster. According to head coach Sean Payton, no one is leading the competition at the moment. Each quarterback will get a fair shot and reps with the first, second, and third units.
Competing for a roster spot, including a starting spot, can be a very cutthroat competition. Even though the three are competing against one another to be the starter, Nix said the competition has remained respectful.
“I have great respect for those guys and we're competing at a very high level, but it's very respectful competition,” shared Nix. “I think we all want each other to succeed. We all know that we've come from different paths and had to overcome different adversities, and that's kind of what connects us in that. We're all helping each other, and it's been great to learn from those guys and experience some things that they've experienced.”
Both Stidham and Wilson have played in different scenarios and schemes in their NFL careers. Even in competition, Nix is enjoying the opportunity to learn from the veteran quarterbacks.
“I think honestly, my job as a rookie is to soak up everything I can, especially from those guys,” said Nix. “You know, Zach's played a lot and Stidham's played a lot of years. And so they've got — between the two — different situations, but a lot of knowledge, so that's what I'm excited to continue to learn in training camp. I think it's just overall healthy competition, a good competition and I think we're all going to be better coming out of it.”
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