Sean Payton shares thoughts on Drew Brees and Bo Nix comparisons

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton held an unscheduled press conference on Thursday.

He got to discuss one of his favorite players ever.

With the news the Payton will present Drew Brees at the Pro Football Hall of Fame next month, Payton spoke at length about the honor.

The two men helped revive the Saints and win a Super Bowl. And now Brees is headed to Canton with Payton right by his side.

But a couple of Broncos questions were snuck in by local reporters, including one about any comparisons between Brees and Bo Nix.

Payton offered up an interesting response, one focused on the accuracy of both guys.

“I think that No. 1, they were high-volume college players. (Brees) played a lot of snaps at Purdue. I would say the immediate, just analytical statistical number, would be the accuracy numbers. From an NFL perspective, (Brees) will go down as the most accurate passer in the history of the league, and collegiately he was at Purdue,” Sean Payton said.

Brees had a career completion percentage of 67.7 percent, which is really good. And in 2018, he completed a ridiculous 74.4 percent of his passes, the best ever in one season.

Through two years in the NFL, Nix has completed 64.8 percent of his attempts, including 66.3 percent as a rookie. That number dipped slightly to 63.4 percent last year, which is still solid.

It’s clear that the ability to connect with a receiver on most plays is something that Payton liked about Brees and sees in Nix.

“I think historically speaking, Bo was the most-accurate college passer when you look at a lot of numbers, so that would be the first. (It’s) a tough comparison for anybody in their (third) year, but that would just be the beginning. Their personalities are different, of course, but their accuracy and their positioning of the ball is certainly noticed,” Sean Payton said.

He makes a good point, that putting the two in the same sentence at this time in Nix’s career is tough. Brees is one of the greatest QBs in NFL history, Nix’s ascension is just beginning.

But Sean Payton didn’t balk at the question, particularly when it comes to accuracy. That should be a feather in the cap for Nix as he enters his third professional season.

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