ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Bo Nix‘s tenure as a Denver Bronco is still in the infant stages, at just over two weeks old.
But forget about learning how to crawl, the No. 12-overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft is running away as the leader of the Broncos’ draft class.
“[Nix is] a great leader and we all look up to him,” Denver’s seventh-round rookie receiver Devaughn Vele stated after the Broncos’ second rookie minicamp practice on Saturday. “We understand the kind of caliber and competitiveness he brings. We’re all rallying behind him right now.”
When Vele made this comment, he had spent less than 72 hours around Nix, yet already noticed how the quarterback was leading and rallying his fellow rookies. Additionally, the 6-foot-5, 210-pound receiver isn’t a traditional rookie, either, as he’s 26 years old. And despite being two years older than Nix, he’s already looking up to him.
In a more intimate quarterback room, Nix has stood out as well.
“[He’s been] awesome and is a great dude,” rookie quarterback John Matocha, a standout from Colorado School of Mines who was with Denver on a tryout basis during minicamp, said about the first-round pick.
Nix isn’t a stranger to rallying and leading teams. In fact, the five-star recruit was a captain at Auburn and then again for two seasons at Oregon after he transferred.
Leadership just comes naturally to the signal caller.
“Just be myself,” he said, when asked how he approaches being a leader on a team. “You’re not going to be able to do it all at once. It’s going to [be] day-by-day. The most important thing is being a great teammate and learning my new teammates. Being around them and forming great relationships with them. They just want to see guys who can go out there and play hard for each other. That’s what most leaders are able to do.”
During minicamp, two weeks after Nix became a Bronco, Sean Payton said Nix is working on leading the team and pointed to a big factor of leadership being how driven players are and how much the game means to them. After drafting Nix, Payton praised these aspects of his character.
During minicamp, Nix also impressed his new teammates on the field.
“He got rid of the ball really freaking fast,” Denver’s third-round pick Jonah Elliss said, before talking about when he played against Nix in college. “I had a couple of hurries on him, but I never got there. I’m excited to watch him play because I don’t think he will get sacked many times. He gets rid of the ball so stinking fast.”
On Oct. 28, 2023, Nix and Oregon beat Elliss and Utah 35-6. Nix went 24-of-31 for 248 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also wasn’t sacked a single time.
Undrafted rookie running back Blake Watson is also very familiar with Nix’s game.
“He’s a Heisman Trophy finalist, so he’s a great player,” the Memphis running back stated. “He did great things in college at Auburn and Oregon. I’m excited to see what he does this year.”
The first-round pick also already impressed his coach on the field.
“He’s doing well,” Payton stated after Saturday’s practice. “He is handling the install well. He had a pretty good practice today, and he’s grinding through it. He’s doing a pretty good job with it.”
No. 10 has barely been on the job more than 10 days. Yet Nix is already showing encouraging signs needed from the most important position in all of sports.
