Sean Payton raves about QB Bo Nix as runner, knew it before NFL Draft

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton knew something that most of the NFL world didn’t.

QB Bo Nix was going to be a very good runner, an underrated part of his game coming out of college that wasn’t discussed much.

And frankly, the Broncos might’ve gotten a little lucky that Nix didn’t do a lot of running drills at the 2024 NFL Combine.

“I’ve mentioned this before, when the combine came he didn’t shuttle, he didn’t do a number of these drills that I thought he’d be exceptional at. Later, he told me he had a turf toe, and it made sense. But when you watched him you thought man, this guy is tough to sack. And he won a lot of downs for us last year with his feet,” Payton said.

Sean Payton had previously revealed the Nix turf toe injury at this year’s NFL Combine. It was in ’24, when the Broncos took Nix 12th overall in the draft, that he couldn’t do the running drills.

He was the sixth QB off the board that year, but right now looks like the second best quarterback from the class, only behind Jayden Daniels. Payton was asked if Nix might’ve been taken higher if other head coaches and GMs knew what a good runner he was.

“I don’t know if those drills would’ve changed where and how he was drafted. I remember talking to (GM) George (Paton) and saying this is a real good foot athlete,” Payton said.

But if the times had been really good and Nix had participated? Who knows.

“Yeah, I’m glad he didn’t,” Sean Payton said with a laugh.

Nix ran for 430 yards for the Broncos last season and four touchdowns. Payton was asked about if there’s an “audit” for how much he runs the ball. Nix was credited with 92 total carries.

“No, I think the audit would be more in regards to protecting himself at the end of those plays. And the timing of when’s a gotta have it,” Payton said. “It’s a strength.”

In fact, Nix was third on the Broncos in rushing yards. Hopefully that won’t be the case this year, if Denver can get better production out of actual running backs. They added RJ Harvey in the draft and J.K. Dobbins in free agency, looking for just that.

In the meantime, it’s a funny story from Sean Payton. Let’s all be glad the GMs in New England, Atlanta and Minnesota, who were all looking for a QB, didn’t know how good Nix is with his feet.

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