ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Bo Nix has yet to take a single snap in the NFL and he’s already turning heads inside the Denver Broncos‘ locker room.
“Bo has been an impressive person in our locker room, [not only] as a player—I think he’s picking things up incredibly fast and doing a great job—but as a competitor and as a teammate, he’s done a great job,” veteran offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey stated on Monday, following the Broncos’ fifth practice of training camp.
In his five seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, before signing with the Broncos in 2023, McGlinchey was part of two teams that went to the NFC Championship Game and another team that went to the Super Bowl. Because of that, McGlinchey has been around elite players in the league and knows what it takes to be great. And he sees that in Nix.
“He’s learned fast on the job and he’s a very competitive dude,” Denver’s starting right tackle added.
During the draft process, one of the biggest selling points to Sean Payton, George Paton and the Broncos’ front office about Nix was his ability to pick up information quickly. Unsurprisingly, according to McGlinchey, that trait has translated to the NFL.
“I think it’s certainly his maturity is something that everybody’s speaking to,” McGlinchey said.
With a record-setting 61 starts in college under his belt, along with being 24 years old, it’s also not surprising Nix is carrying himself with maturity and composure around his teammates.
McGlinchey then pointed to a specific example of what the rookie has done that’s caught his eye.
“He’s always coming up asking me and asking the rest of us, ‘How can I do this better,’ or ‘How can I do that better,'” McGlinchey revealed about Nix. “He takes a lot of pride in not screwing things up, or if he does once, he’s not going to do it again.”
Through five practices of training camp, McGlinchey’s praise of Nix has been true. The rookie has yet to make many poor decisions with the ball and has only thrown one interception in camp. In fact, Payton has praised the rookie’s ball security and decision making too.
“I think Bo is on the right track,” McGlinchey added, taking a big-picture approach to Nix’s future. “I think he’s going to take the coaching that he’s going to get. He’s got some of the best in the world helping him out and I think he’s going to do great things for us.”
Nix remains in a tight quarterback competition with Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson. Yet despite that, the rookie has clearly won over the trust of the locker room, even the veteran players, for when his number is called.
