Broncos’ Bo Nix is ‘dialed in,’ and everything’s going fast now

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — For Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, even the simple things had some complications last year. So it tends to go when you’re a rookie and, as John Elway said, you’re “drinking through a fire hose.”

Now, those things are off his plate.

“I don’t have to worry about what certain looks are, or — as crazy as it sounds — where we’re going for the locker room, or where we’re going for the stretch. I know it. I can get there and do it, and knock it out and now I can focus on the next level of things and the details and not really the overall picture,” Nix said.

“A lot of the times as a rookie, you just don’t want to look like an idiot. Now you can go out there and look a lot better than an idiot.”

Much better, really.

“There’s no type of haze in his eyes where he feels like, maybe, ‘What was the kill? Let me figure –‘” Broncos tight end Adam Trautman said.

“You know, like, he’s a gen –”

Trautman cut himself off, although you knew what the six-year veteran was about to say. Still, whether he said the word or not, the sentiment was obvious, and given that Trautman played a season alongside Drew Brees in New Orleans, he knows what a high I.Q. quarterback looks like.

And he sees that in the Broncos’ returning quarterback.

“He’s smart as hell anyways,” Trautman said. “But this year, it’s like, you get to a point — when I played with Drew, it was like his second language.

“And obviously, I’m not saying Bo’s Drew Brees. Like, that’s unfair. But it is becoming like that. Like, he’s spitting it out fast.

“And now we can focus on cadence. Now we can focus on shifts, motions, whatever we want to do. So now you can kind of mess with the defense a little more. So it just gives you a lot of flexibility when your quarterback is so honed in and dialed in on the entire picture of the offense in each play.”

Maybe not a “genius,” per se. But perhaps there’s something more: There’s the diligence to go with it, too.

“I mean, he’s — he’s damn smart. And it’s not just because he’s bright naturally. It’s because of the time and effort he puts into this,” Trautman said.

“This is his job. Like, this is his life and he’s in full control of it, and that’s why he’s been so great.”

One could say “a lot better than an idiot,” indeed. And that should have the Broncos feeling pretty good about their 2024 first-round investment.

 

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PLAY OF THE DAY

Undrafted rookie Kyrese Rowan stole the show during the seven-on-seven red-zone period, making a leaping, contorting grab in the back left corner of the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Sam Ehlinger. It was one of three consecutive touchdown passes for Ehlinger in the period; one play later, he hit running back RJ Harvey for a 15-yard score.

ATTENDANCE REPORT

Right tackle Mike McGlinchey remained sidelined, but was on hand for the session. Wide receiver A.T. Perry watched from off to the side; he is on the physically-unable-to-perform list.

Linebacker Drew Sanders left practice on a cart. He was set to undergo further examination. Payton said the injury was not to his Achilles tendon; he suffered a ruptured Achilles in April 2024.

BRONCOS CAMP NOTES

• It was all about the red zone on Saturday, with seven-on-seven and team periods focusing on that area of the field.
• Cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine dropped a potential interception off Nix during one red-zone period, but later made up for it with a nice play on the ball on a third-and-goal, knocking the ball out of Pat Bryant’s grasp to prevent a potential 3-yard touchdown pass.
• Harvey was active in the red zone. In addition to the seven-on-seven touchdown from Ehlinger, he ran for a 5-yard touchdown on a first-and-goal play later in practice, following crisp blocking from the right side of the Broncos’ first-team offensive line for a score and going through Brandon Jones for the touchdown.
• Ja’Quan McMillian has been active at defusing swing passes so far in camp, including one Saturday where he went through Lucas Krull to limit a Stidham completion on third-and-goal from the 10-yard line to just three yards.
• Undrafted rookie Jerjuan Newton continues to flash, and shows a fearless nature going across the middle, as he did for one reception that moved the chains during a team period Saturday.
• Broncos edge rushers Que Robinson and Dondrea Tillman continued to generate multiple pressures, as they have throughout previously observed practices since May. But Stidham continued to show composure under fire from the two edges, with one example coming on a third-and-8 play where he got rid of the ball, finding Marvin Mims Jr. down the left flank for a gain of at least 25 yards in game conditions.
• If Sanders is out for any length of time, the Broncos will need other inside linebackers to step forward, and Levelle Bailey and Karene Reid looked up to the task the last two days. Bailey has made three plays on the ball in the last two days, forcing two incompletions and a fumble. Reid had a terrific three-play sequence near the end of Saturday’s session, putting himself in position to blow up three consecutive runs and only holding up because of the low-contact nature of the no-pad practice.
• Undrafted rookie Johnny Walker Jr. flashed late in the practice, bringing pressure from the left side on a third-and-goal play from the 10-yard line to force an Ehlinger incompletion.
• Running back Audric Estimé concluded the Broncos’ practice by getting to the right pylon for a 3-yard touchdown catch on the final play of the day.

WHAT’S NEXT

An off-day before returning to the field Monday for the Broncos’ first full-pad session of summer. The practice begins at 10 a.m. MDT.

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