Drew Brees has seen the growth from Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos throughout the season.
The rookie-led Broncos squad is going to the playoffs, just one of two teams led by rookie quarterbacks that are going to the postseason. It’s a surprising ascent considering the Broncos had the worst-graded roster of any NFL team entering the season and when factoring in they started the year 0-2.
However, Nix has emerged as one of the better quarterbacks in the league, posting the second-most total touchdowns of any rookie QB (34) in NFL history and going through a crazy nine-game stretch where he threw 16 touchdowns against two interceptions.
Nix is doing it under the tutelage of coach Sean Payton, who paired with Brees for a dominant run with the Saints from 2006-2020.
“It was definitely a limited playbook early on that was gradually growing and growing until what we saw on Sunday against the Chiefs,” says Brees of Nix’s growth and development. “Tempo and the rhythm and the full breadth of what you saw with the playbook being at his disposal. He was operating at a very, very high level.”
Nix obviously got off to a slow start of the season, showing more of his run ability than his pass ability early on. It wasn’t until the fourth game of the season that Nix threw his first touchdown pass. Through his first four games, Nix had one passing touchdown against four interceptions while failing to muster a passer rating above 85.0 in any of those games. He also had 110 rushing yards along with two touchdowns.
Brees explains why Nix’s growth from a passing standpoint was slow to start out.
“Offensively they continue to get better and better,” says Brees of the Broncos. “You know it was going to be slower to start just because Bo Nix coming in, a brand new quarterback, brand new offense for him, coming from a style of offense in college. Once these guys come from a style of offense in college where they’re in the shotgun and it’s a quick handoff or it’s a quick pass, they aren’t having to really process and make their way through progressions or take steps under center, turning their back to the defense.
“There’s a lot that they have to get used to in the NFL game,” Brees continues to say of a rookie quarterback’s adjustment. “In addition to developing chemistry with the guys on their side of the ball and understanding NFL defenses and just the flow of the game at the NFL level.”
Brees: Broncos Wide Receivers Have Stepped Up
Although Nix was playing against many of the Chiefs’ backups in Week 18, he had his best game of the season with four touchdowns and zero turnovers while completing 26-of-29 passes (89.7% rate) for 321 passing yards and a 152.4 passer rating. He completed his first 18 passes, a Broncos franchise and NFL rookie record.
While a lot of the attention has obviously been on Nix, Brees makes sure to credit the growth of the Broncos’ secondary receivers outside of Courtland Sutton. For example, Devaughn Vele and Marvin Mims have emerged as viable receivers in the second half of the season, with Mims ranking second on the team with six touchdowns.
”What I was worried about early on in the season was they didn’t really have a true game-breaker receiver,” says Brees. “They have a bunch of big targets, but who’s the guy that’s really going to establish themself as the go-to-guy? I feel like they’ve got a couple guys that at any moment, can be great matchups for them through the course of the game.”
Brees wouldn’t make a prediction on how far the Broncos are advancing in the playoffs, but he acknowledges it’s a “tough” test going to Buffalo to play the Buffalo Bills.
The Broncos are major underdogs with the Bills favored at -8.5 points. Denver is making its first playoff appearance since the 2015 season.
”The run game has been more established and Bo is more comfortable under center with the play action and turning his back to the defense,” says Brees of Nix’s growth. “That combined with the great defense is why they’re an ascending team going to the playoffs. Look, they’ve got a tough test going to Buffalo. But they’re playing well right now.”
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