ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos weren’t running from the fact that Bo Nix was struggling last week. They expected it.
During back-to-back practices featuring fresh installs, the rookie quarterback faltered at times against the pressure looks being thrown his way from Denver’s defense, whether it was misidentifying the origin of a blitz or not getting the ball to his hot reads efficiently. Offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi conceded there was “not as much confidence” in Nix’s eyes as he was being downloaded with those concepts for the first time.
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That wasn’t abnormal, Lombardi insisted, for a quarterback digesting new information within a new scheme — be it a rookie quarterback or anyone else.
“Even if you’re a 12-year veteran, when you’re getting new language, new protections, and then you add in a unique defense that maybe you don’t have a ton of experience with … even a veteran in his first year (in a new system), you’re going to feel some of that,” Lombardi said last week. “I don’t think it’s unique to Bo or a rookie. With that being said, for a rookie, Bo has been outstanding with that. Jarrett (Stidham) just mentioned how much easier it is for him his second year. When you break meetings at night, just how much more comfortable he is, just like, ‘Man I got all of this already.’ When it’s brand new to you, it’s like you break meetings and you have a lot of review to do. It’s just a volume issue with new information that, your second time through, it’s always going to be easier whether you’ve been playing for 12 years or you’re a rookie.”
The Broncos’ coaching staff isn’t concerned with the stumbles they know will come from a young quarterback as new elements are introduced. The response is what they are most interested in gauging. It’s the layer of context that made Nix’s preseason debut Sunday all the more encouraging. The rookie navigated the Indianapolis pass rush in ways that allowed him to extend plays, find throwing angles and, at times, escape the pocket for a positive play. Much of what the Broncos did in mitigating the rush had been installed earlier in the week.
“Yeah, listen, ball (is) out,” coach Sean Payton said after a game in which Nix and fellow quarterbacks Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson avoided a sack. “I like the timing, the tempo of when we’re releasing it. That was a big issue for us a year ago with the minus plays. … I was pleased with the timing of what we were doing throwing the ball. It’s important.”
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The Broncos last season averaged 3.19 seconds between the snap and the quarterback’s throw, according to TruMedia. Only the Chicago Bears (3.28) took longer to release passes. The number for Denver was a tick higher in the 15 games Russell Wilson started (3.22) than in the two started by Stidham (2.99). A quick release is not the sole indicator of a healthy passing offense, of course, but when Payton and his staff did an autopsy of the 2023 season, they found too many avoidable sacks — caused by too much indecision.
Twenty-one pass attempts in a preseason game isn’t an appreciable sample size. But Nix’s average time to throw — 2.83 seconds — was illustrated by the way he made quick decisions in the face of the rush. They were snapshots of why the Broncos believe Nix can help improve an offense that had too many negative plays last season — 13.6 percent of their total snaps, to be exact, fifth-worst in the NFL.
GO DEEPERBroncos 53-man roster prediction: Will Zach Wilson be part of a 3-QB room?“The poise and the tempo is something that really stood out about him,” Chase Daniel, who spent five seasons playing for Payton as a backup quarterback with the New Orleans Saints, said on Tuesday’s episode of The Athletic’s Scoop City podcast. “He wasn’t holding the football. He wasn’t taking sacks. He was using his legs and his athleticism, which, honestly, I thought was an overlooked trait for him coming out of Oregon.”
It is important to note that the Colts, as is typical in the preseason, didn’t develop a schematic plan specifically to thwart Nix. Creative disguises are coming. So is Maxx Crosby. But Nix’s ability to work around pressure is as much about his mindset as it is about the athleticism that allows him to flee the rush or the quick release that allows him to beat it.
“It’s all about knowing where your outlets are, knowing when you’re hot, having a good feel for the pocket, and it’s just being on time, being in rhythm,” Nix said. “If your one or two (read) is not there, get to three in a quick manner. I always say I feel like I can take a three(-step) hitch and throw and get the ball out without them physically being able to get to me. It’s all about a quarterback’s timing. The offensive line did a great job today, keeping us up, and they’re going to continue to work to master picking up blitzes and making sure that we’re on the same page of protections. But all that is is work throughout the week. It was good to get out there in a real game and feel that pocket. Like we say, just get the ball out on time and usually you can avoid sacks.”
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That doesn’t mean Nix is always intent on firing at the first target who flashes open in the name of avoiding pressure. Take a third-and-3 play for the Broncos early in the third quarter Sunday. Lined up at the Colts’ 35-yard line, Nix had three receivers to his right and had Jaleel McLaughlin in the backfield to his left. As Devaughn Vele, the lone receiver to the left, ran a slant toward the middle of the field, the Colts’ linebacker assigned to McLaughlin stumbled as he tried to go around Vele. Nix backpedaled while buying time for McLaughlin to take advantage of the miscue and then delivered an on-target strike that allowed McLaughlin to pick up 22 yards.
Bo Nix finds Jaleel McLaughlin to set up the @Broncos in scoring position!
📺: #DENvsIND on @NFLNetwork
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/r87EoxTrFq— NFL (@NFL) August 11, 2024
While Nix’s ability to stay upright was a huge part of his success at Oregon (only five sacks taken in 2023), the same wasn’t true for Wilson during his three seasons as a quarterback with the Jets. His sack rate of 10.2 percent in that stretch was higher than every quarterback in the league except for Justin Fields and Bryce Young, who has only played his rookie season with the Panthers. As he has gained a stronger grasp of Denver’s offense over the past two weeks, Wilson has shown more poise under pressure.
“You never feel a panic, so there’s a calmness to him,” Payton said last week when asked to assess where Wilson had improved most since he began digesting the offense in May. “I would say a little bit of (it is) his patience, play to play.”
The Broncos expressed confidence when Wilson arrived that they could help correct some of the habits that led to his struggles with the Jets, from footwork in the pocket to how he was identifying pressures. Quarterbacks coach Davis Webb said the process began by making it clear to Wilson that he wasn’t going to be forced into a proverbial box.
GO DEEPERBroncos QB Bo Nix's mobility, poise on display in encouraging preseason debut“I think the one mistake coaches make in this league, which is hilarious, is they handcuff quarterbacks and try to drill them mechanically and make them do something they couldn’t do,” Webb said during the Broncos’ offseason program. “Or they just got it taught (to them), memorized it and thought that was the only way. He’s had a lot of coaches in his lifetime. I can relate to that with six offensive coordinators in three years. He and I have had a lot of conversations in regard to, ‘Hey, this is what you’ve known; this is what I think you’re best at.’ Let’s try to have some meaningful conversation here as opposed to, ‘This is rigid; this is loose.’ Let’s just communicate and whatever your best is, that’s what we want.”
Wilson has mentioned on multiple occasions that he has appreciated that fresh approach from Webb and Denver’s offensive staff. The Broncos, in turn, have been pleased with how he has handled training camp despite largely being relegated to third-team reps after the opening week of practices ended. His performance in Sunday’s game, when he went 10-of-13 for 117 yards and led Denver on two touchdown drives, demonstrated some of the growth coaches have seen in the way he commands the offense.
The question now is whether the growth Wilson has shown will grant him a greater opportunity to compete for a spot in Denver’s quarterbacks room. Nix is trending toward becoming the starter, even if Payton hasn’t put a firm timeline on when that decision will be made. Stidham has been arguably the most consistent performer in camp practices, but preseason games remain a significant part of the evaluation. Wilson still has time to make a push.
“What I feel like I’ve tried to do in this training camp so far is just go out and give it my best every single day and cut it loose,” Wilson said. “Whatever happens, happens.”
(Photo of Bo Nix: Michael Allio / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Nick Kosmider is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Denver Broncos. He previously covered the Denver Nuggets for The Athletic after spending five years at the Denver Post, where he covered the city’s professional sports scene. His other stops include The Arizona Republic and MLB.com. Follow Nick on Twitter @NickKosmider
