Former Broncos TE Julius Thomas makes case for Bo Nix to start

Former Denver Broncos tight end Julius Thomas knows a thing or two about catching touchdown passes.

Thomas had a couple of monster seasons in Denver with Peyton Manning throwing him the football in 2013 and 2014. Thomas hauled in 12 TDs each season and made the Pro Bowl in both campaigns. He also went for nearly 1,300 combined yards over that stretch.

And even though Thomas wasn’t the same player once he left town, he’s still someone worth listening to when he shares an opinion.

Appearing with Kay Adams on “Up and Adams” on Tuesday, Thomas was asked about the QB situation in Denver this season. Even though Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson all appear to have a shot at the job, Thomas is a big fan of the rookie first-round pick.

Former #Broncos TE @Julius_Thomas is ALL IN on rookie QB Bo Nix being the WEEK 1 starter in Denver 🗣️
@heykayadams pic.twitter.com/f05gbXwgmz

— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) June 11, 2024

“I think that Bo Nix is going to have a great season this year. I think he was the type of quarterback that I wanted to see in Sean Payton’s system,” Thomas said. “He doesn’t seem that different in size and stature from a really good quarterback that Sean Payton has had before.”

While Adams didn’t ask Thomas to elaborate on that point, it’s clear he’s thinking about Drew Brees. Of course, Brees and Payton had a legendary run in New Orleans, including a Super Bowl winning team and several squads that went deep in the playoffs.

Adams did ask Thomas to follow up on why he thinks it should be Nix starting Week 1 in Seattle, and not someone like Wilson.

“If you’ve got one of the most accurate quarterbacks sitting in that backfield, you’re going to want that guy to be throwing the ball. I’ve gotten a chance to watch him play a couple times at Oregon this year and he was on the money with that ball placement. And that’s huge in the NFL,” Thomas said.

Julius Thomas said he thinks Nix will be the starter against Seattle, and that the pass-catchers on the team will like that.

Stay tuned for Payton to make his decision.

Related

‘You pee, you grab a banana’ — Sean Payton pulls back the curtain on play-callingSean Payton going viral after calling out Falcons fans during preseason openerSean Payton says Stidham had ‘resiliency’ in nice game after last season’s dudStidham makes statement early in Broncos’ backup QB derbyCourtland Sutton could see his third-down target share cut dramaticallyBroncos preseason opener: Three players to watch against the Falcons