Bo Nix’s arm strength made Talanoa Hufanga go, ‘Wow’

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Bo Nix’s stellar rookie season still wasn’t enough to quiet some national critics of his arm strength.

But in the eyes of new Denver Broncos safety Talanoa Hufanga, there’s plenty of juice in the second-year quarterback’s arm, something he’s experienced after going against him during offseason practices and the two acclimation sessions that precede Friday’s official start to training camp.

“First and foremost, I think he’s just a smart player,” Hufanga said when asked about Bo Nix on Thursday. “But then it’s like, ‘OK, you get on the field and you see how accurate he is, what kind of arm he has.’

“Tspecially the first day of OTAs, like, the first ball was over everybody’s head and I was like, ‘Wow.’ Like you have to be — you have to account for those kind of things.”

The narrative about Bo Nix and vertical passing should have evaporated with deep completions such as the ones he had to Marvin Mims Jr. against the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals last December.

THE DATA BACKS UP WHAT HUFANGA SEES IN BO NIX

Indeed, among 33 quarterbacks with at least 30 deep pass plays last year, Bo Nix ranked sixth in passer rating (106.1), 14th in big-time throw rate and 17th in yards per attempt, per Pro Football Focus data, placing him average or better in all three metrics.

But alas, old myths die hard.

“Not every game that you play in the NFL, you’re going to play a quarterback that can launch it that far,” Hufanga said.

“And so for him, he has that ability to just get it over the defense’s head. And so that changes your perspective on how to play him.”

Then there are the intangibles of leadership that Hufanga sees around the building.

“And so far, to see as a teammate that he is great person, great player, and just seeing how he handles himself in the locker room in the cafeteria and all that, I’m excited to play with him,” he said.

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