Bo Nix feels confident that the Broncos can defend the target on their back

Bo Nix took the podium after practice on Monday and made one thing abundantly clear: He didn’t come this far to stop now.

The Broncos franchise quarterback, entering his third NFL season, expressed supreme confidence in both himself and the team he’s leading into 2026. And for Broncos Country, who’s been yearning for a Super Bowl, Nix’s words should be reassuring.

“I definitely didn’t grow up playing football, and training, and going through the things that I’ve been through, to not put myself in this situation,” Nix said. “That’s why we do it. We wanna be at the biggest stage, playing the best competition, leading a team to hopefully go win a Super Bowl.”

Nix has earned the right to talk this way. After helping Denver go 14-3 last season and leading the Broncos to the AFC Championship Game, the former Auburn and Oregon standout has firmly established himself as the franchise’s cornerstone. Head coach Sean Payton said earlier in camp that Nix no longer feels like a young player in the huddle or at the line, he carries himself like a veteran.

And Nix is clearly proud of where the program has been built to.

“I’m just excited to where we’ve built it, and we’ve got it to where we feel like we can compete on any level at all times,” he said.

But with that success comes a new challenge. The Broncos are no longer the scrappy young team that surprised the league in 2024. They’re now one of the NFL’s elite, and Nix understands what that means.

“That doesn’t make it any easier, as a matter of fact it makes it tougher, because now we have a target on our back,” Nix said. “But at the same time, I think we’re willing and able to defend that target.”

It’s a sentiment that echoes what Sean Payton said at the start of camp when he called this one of the teams he’s coached that has a genuine chance to win the Super Bowl. With Jaylen Waddle now in the fold, a defense that ranked among the NFL’s best, and a quarterback who is hungry for more, the Broncos have all the pieces in place.

Now it’s about execution. And if Nix’s confidence at the podium is any indication, this team isn’t content with simply making it to the AFC Championship Game. They want the whole thing.

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