Bo Nix is ready

The Denver Broncos‘ quarterback competition isn’t Bo Nix vs. Jarrett Stidham vs. Zach Wilson.

The competition is between Bo Nix and himself.

If the rookie is ready, he’s the starter.

If he isn’t ready, then the Broncos need to decide whether Stidham or Wilson is a better option to patch the gap.

Luckily for the Broncos, Bo Nix is ready.

Nix was electric in his Broncos debut. The 12th-overall pick led four scoring drives in five attempts. The lone failure came when tight end Lucas Krull fumbled away a possession.

Nix stepped up and hit Courtland Sutton to convert a 3rd & 10.

He hit a wide-open Jaleel McLaughlin on a wheel route.

He dropped a perfect ball up the sideline into the end zone for Josh Reynolds, but it fell through the receiver’s hands.

Rookie moments arose; Nix’s first two throws were off target, and a third-down ball to David Sills later in the game was a step behind the receiver and prevented him from picking up the first down.

But the rookie’s ability to keep the offense on schedule—primarily with short passes—is the story of the day. He finished with 15 completions on 21 attempts. He picked up 125 yards and a touchdown. He didn’t take a sack.

“It was a good day,” Nix said. “I felt like we did a good job. Huge team win.” 

Nix was humble.

Right tackle Mike McGlinchey gave a more accurate assessment.

“He played his balls his off,” McGlinchey said.

Not only was it a good day, it was good enough to prove Nix is ready to lead the Broncos.

That shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Nix started 61 games in college, the most of any quarterback to ever be drafted. Beyond that, the blueprint for his early success was obvious.

Nix’s Oregon Ducks ran an RPO-heavy spread attack. That meant Nix would be given a fairly simple read, which would determine whether to hand the ball off or make a quick throw.

The Ducks implemented more layers, but the RPOs were the basis.

The Broncos used that same base layer on Sunday.

On a third down with the ball at the one-yard line, the Broncos sent Marvin Mims in motion. He flew through the backfield and ran to the flat after the ball was snapped.

Nix’s read was easy: If Mims has leverage to the boundary, throw the ball. If not, hand it to running back Audric Estime.

Mims gained leverage and Nix put the ball on the money for a touchdown.

Nix’s offense was option-heavy, but it wasn’t option-exclusive. The Broncos ran some traditional passing concepts out of shotgun, and some play-action from under center. A heavy dose of power running was part of the formula.

But one piece was missing from the Broncos’ passing attack when Nix was on the field: under-center dropback passes.

Nix is inexperienced playing from under center. The Oregon offense is almost exclusively a shotgun offense. He ran eight plays from under center last season.

On the final play of the first quarter on Sunday, Nix pulled away from his center too quickly and couldn’t hold onto the snap. The ball hit the ground. Nix jumped on top of it.

Under-center offense is a weakness for the rookie. That’s no surprise. Hiccups should be expected.

But the Broncos need to have an under-center run game if they’re going to take advantage of their expensive offensive line. And they need an under-center passing attack that keeps the defense honest.

Nix made some great plays on play-action passes from under center on Sunday. The fake runs kept defenders on their heels.

But Payton didn’t call a single straight drop back pass for Nix when he was under center, probably because he’s still cleaning up the footwork.

Play-action passes will keep a defense honest, but they aren’t perfect. The fake run means the quarterback won’t throw the ball in the first second or two after the snap. Cornerbacks don’t need to fear a quick pass. They can sit back. Linebackers can linger on their run responsibilities before fulfilling their coverage duties.

Eventually, the Broncos will need to develop that piece of their offense. The defense must respect the possibility of the quick pass.

Eventually, the “Bo Nix–Sean Payton Offense” will need to check all sorts of these little boxes. It will need to be well-rounded and have answers for every problem. Nix must be complex of making more complicated pre- and post-snap reads. He’ll need to remember to set his feet and not fade backward as often when throwing the ball.

There are details that need to be cleaned up. There are lessons that must be learned.

But Nix proved on Sunday that he has enough to get by.

For young quarterbacks in the modern NFL, survival is all that matters. Can you find a way to stay productive enough to not get benched?

Early on, Josh Allen moved too slowly through his reads to find receivers when they were open. Luckily, he was a big and fast enough runner to squeeze positive yards out of broken plays. Now, he can read coverages well enough to produce from the pocket.

Early on, Andy Reid simplified his offense for Patrick Mahomes. Instead of complex downfield concepts, Reid decided on a heavy diet of RPOs. As Mahomes blossomed, the RPOs fell by the wayside. From 2020 to 2023, the number of RPOs he ran per game fell by 48%.

Early on, Lamar Jackson was a runner. In his first season as the Ravens’ starter, he ran for more than 80 yards per game. That number has fallen every season since, as Jackson has improved as a pocket passer. In 2023, he won MVP while only running for 51 yards per game.

Nix isn’t the perfect quarterback. He’s a rookie with some rough edges. He also has plenty of strengths, and those strengths are more than enough to carry him through the first stage of his career.

Let him run RPOs, where he’s comfortable, confident and effective.

Let him run spread-out shotgun passes, where he can read the field and consistently find completions.

Let him run play-action, where his athleticism and off-platform ability will produce big plays and balance out a heavy rushing attack.

Let him run read options, where he can create a numbers advantage for his running backs or pick up easy yards with his legs.

Nix has the skills to run an offense right away. Payton showed on Sunday that he knows how to build that offense.

There’s no need to wait, Bo Nix is ready to be the Broncos’ starting quarterback.