Why naming Bo Nix as a captain — even as a rookie — was a ‘no-brainer’

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Bo Nix will find plenty of support within the locker room for his new-found status as Denver Broncos team captain.

“He’s answered the bell with everything we’ve asked of him and everything the coaching staff has asked of him,” said right tackle Mike McGlinchey.

“And Bo’s a really impressive kid, and he’s done a great job coming in here and commanding this locker room and commanding our huddle.”

So much so that in McGlinchey’s eyes, there was little question as to whether the No. 12 overall pick should have the distention.

“He was a no-doubter. Yeah, it was pretty plain and simple, especially … coming in and taking over our team the way he has and playing the quarterback position,” McGlinchey said. “Bo’s a dynamite kid, and that was a no-brainer.”

Broncos RT Mike McGlinchey says having Bo Nix as a team captain — even as a rookie — is a "no-brainer."

"Bo's a really impressive kid, and he's done a great job coming in here and commanding this locker room and commanding our huddle. He was a no-doubter." pic.twitter.com/iyQaK1Ty0E

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) September 5, 2024

McGlinchey wasn’t the only Bronco who felt this way.

“I think he deserves it,” said linebacker Alex Singleton, who was also announced as a captain this week. “The way he’s taken control of the offense, just the steps that he’s gotten, I think he’s a great captain.

“I’m excited. It’s good for him.”

IN NAMING BO NIX A CAPTAIN, BRONCOS FOLLOWED A RECENT LEAGUE TREND

Bo Nix will be the 10th quarterback since 2020 to start his team’s regular-season opener. Of those 10 teams with rookies in the Week 1 starting lineup, nine named season-long captains. And eight of those included the quarterback. Only the 2021 New England Patriots — who started first-round pick Mac Jones — declined to name their rookie QB as a team captain.

Considering that no team named a Week 1 rookie starting QB as a team captain from 2007 — when NFL teams initially placed “C” patches for captains on a league-wide basis — until 2019, it shows that this is a relatively new phenomenon.

Cincinnati was the first through the wall to break the pattern with Joe Burrow in 2020. Now, entrusting leadership to a rookie quarterback who starts Week 1 is the norm.

If Washington chose to name season-long captains rather than going on a game-by-game basis, it’s likely that Jayden Daniels would join Nix and Chicago’s Caleb Williams as officially-denoted team leaders from the jump this season. All three Week 1 rookie starting quarterbacks last year — Carolina’s Bryce Young, Houston’s C.J. Stroud and Indianapolis’ Anthony Richardson — were captains.

You’re not seeing this with other positions. But quarterback is different — not just compared with other football positions, but those of all sports. And that mattered in the voting that led to his selection — now more than ever.

“The maturity, the confidence, and certainly the position that he plays,” McGlinchey said. “Quarterback is the leader of this team, whether you like it or not.

“And certainly he fits the mold in every aspect, which is why he was voted a captain, right?”

Nix has been checking off boxes for months now. All that is left is for him to justify the faith of the franchise, its coaches — and the teammates who voted him to be one of their leaders despite nary a professional pass to his name.

“I think it’s a credit to him,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said, “and I think his teammates felt that he belonged in that position.”