Sean Payton talks similarities between Drew Brees and Bo Nix

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton is known for his past relationship with quarterbacks and the most famous one is his partnership with Drew Brees that led the New Orleans Saints to a Super Bowl and pushed the Boilmaker from a fringe NFL player to no doubt Pro Football Hall of Famer.

Over 20 years after Brees left Purdue as a four-year player, Bo Nix was drafted by the Broncos after five seasons starting in power college football. Brees didn’t join up with Payton until his sixth year in the NFL as a 27-year-old. Nix, a rookie and 24 years old, is getting his first taste of his new coach and team leading up to the 2024 season.

“Their personalities are different but we’re looking for similarities,” Payton said on Tuesday of his former legend and his current rookie. ” Mentally, he (Bo) wants to know as much as fast as he can, he’s the son of a coach, Drew wasn’t the son of a coach but this group of quarterbacks in general are gym rats, they enjoy the process. It’s been a good room. when you talk to Davis (Webb) or Joe (Lombardi) or myself, these guys are doing well, they’re pushing each other.”

Brees only threw 61% of his passes as complete as an upperclassman in college but became one of the most accurate quarterbacks in NFL history, leading the league in completion percentage six times in an 11-year span. Brees’ final decade in the league he had an above 70% completion percentage.

In his final season at Oregon, Nix hit on 77% of his passes, a follow-up to his fourth year of nailing 72% of his attempts.

“I think there’s maybe a maturity level because he’s played 61 games and when we got Drew it was off of his rookie contract coming off an injury,” Payton said. “He locates the ball well, he’s accurate, and I think Drew was.”

While success came in bunches for Brees in the end, going 172-114 in his career, it wasn’t until his fourth season in the NFL that his team won more games than they lost when he played. Many expect the Broncos to have a rough first season with Nix behind center not necessarily because of the rookie but due to the team’s rebuilding nature. Plus it’s unknow if Nix will even be the starter with two other quarterbacks vying for the gig but it’s not like Brees was a day one starter in the NFL either.

If the comparisons from Brees to Nix and vice versa keep happening, it’s only a good thing for Broncos Country, who hope Payton becomes the first head coach to win a Super Bowl with two different franchises.

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