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Bo Nix may have been the sixth of six quarterbacks selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but he had a brilliant rookie season and the Denver Broncos became a surprise playoff team a year ago. The Broncos play in the tough AFC West along with the defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs, so it's clear that Nix will have to continue to grow into the position if the Broncos are going to continue to improve.
What is it like running Sean Payton's offense?
Bo Nix took me & @DMRussini inside his mind — and explained how he's grown into his role in Year 2.
Absolutely fascinating detail about his entire pre-snap process at the most important position in sports. pic.twitter.com/Lwzu27g79e
— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) August 7, 2025
While beating out the Chiefs looks like a tall task, there's little doubt that Nix has a full understanding of what it takes to play the quarterback position for head coach Sean Payton. He sat down with former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel and Dianna Russini of The Athletic and explained in expert fashion what he is looking at when he calls signals at the line of scrimmage.
Nix went into detail about what he is looking for on running and passing plays. “If it's a running play, the first thing I do is ID the front and do the same thing with the Mike (middle linebacker,” Nix said. “Then I get everybody set up and specify the motion. Once we're lined up, we either run the play or go to the second play.”
Nix went on to detail all the specific options that have to be addressed, including killing the play if that's what would be best for the team before the ball is snapped.
He also went into detail on what happens in a Broncos passing play, and that includes identifying the Mike and the safety, and then looking at the matchups that each of the receivers have.
His analysis was similar to the way Tom Brady broke down his line-of-scrimmage responsibilities during his career.
Nix has full understanding of responsibilities in Broncos offense
As Nix was explaining how he goes about his job at the line of scrimmage before each play, it was clear that the second year quarterback has great self-assurance in what he has to do to perform at a high level. He gained quite a bit of confidence as his rookie year progressed in 2024 and he clearly has a better understanding at the start of the preseason than he did at this point last year.
Payton is a coach who has demonstrated that he can work quite well with a big-play quarterback, as he had great success with Drew Brees when he was at the helm of the Saints.
Nix completed 376 of 567 passes for 3,775 yards last year while throwing 29 touchdown passes and 12 interception last season. The quarterback has an excellent go-to receiver in veteran Courtland Sutton. He caught 81 passes for 1,081 yards and 8 touchdowns a year ago.
