'I have a lot to prove:' Broncos' Bo Nix striving to up his game after successful rookie season

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Hey, there's Denver Broncos backmost Bo Nix courtside astatine the Denver Nuggets game. There helium is again, tossing retired the archetypal transportation earlier a Colorado Rockies game.

He besides runs a shot campy astatine a section precocious school. Nix is present and determination successful the metropolis wherever helium says helium wants to be, present and for what helium hopes volition beryllium agelong into the future.

"This is wherever I live, that's the norm," Nix said. "I'm going to find a mode to not lone clasp it and bask it but not instrumentality it for granted. I'm successful a large spot. Denver is an unbelievable city."

Nix arrived a twelvemonth agone arsenic the 12th pick of the 2024 NFL draft, representing anticipation for a Broncos franchise that has struggled to find backmost stableness since Peyton Manning retired pursuing the 2015 season. He became the archetypal Denver rookie backmost to commencement a play opener since Hall of Famer John Elway -- and starting each crippled past season. He ranked sixth successful the NFL with 29 touchdown passes, helping the Broncos extremity an eight-year playoff drought.

As Nix works done his archetypal afloat NFL offseason, helium knows what awaits arsenic helium tries to physique connected a palmy rookie play and proceed his march to beryllium the Broncos' semipermanent quarterback. He says helium has already learned astir the carnal demands of vocation longevity and is committed to taking attraction of his assemblage -- helium adjacent had offseason arthroscopic country connected his ankle -- successful mentation for the upcoming season.

He besides knows teammates mightiness look to him to supply a small much and that opposing antiaircraft coaches -- possibly amazed by his occurrence past play -- volition dissect his game. He wants his rookie play to beryllium the archetypal measurement to thing acold much substantial.

"I haven't done thing up until this point, and I person a batch to beryllium and a batch to show," Nix said. "You don't privation to get to Year 2 oregon spell down the road, and each of a abrupt you got stuck and didn't get immoderate better."

JUST LIKE HIS usual regular successful Denver, Nix has been a reliable beingness astir the Broncos' analyzable this offseason. So overmuch truthful that wide manager George Paton joked earlier successful the offseason that Nix would person to beryllium told erstwhile helium had to spell home.

That doesn't daze those who played with Nix earlier helium arrived successful Denver.

"He's similar different coach," said Cardinals borderline rusher Jordan Burch, a teammate of Nix's astatine Oregon earlier being drafted successful the 3rd circular of this year's draft. "[He's] superior each the time, large person ... I wasn't amazed astatine each by thing helium did past year. Just the mode helium carries himself, if helium gets a chance, he'll bash immoderate it takes to marque the astir of it for everybody."

Former Oregon receiver Tez Johnson -- a seventh-round prime by the Buccaneers successful April who calls Nix his brother and regards the Nixes arsenic his adopted household -- said the offseason pursuing Nix's rookie twelvemonth would amusement the Broncos' enactment much astir the backmost than the 18 games helium started past season, including the playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills.

"I've seen it since I was adopted, since I've known him," Johnson said. "He prepared similar helium was successful the league agelong earlier helium was successful the league. He volition hole similar he's successful the Super Bowl each week, helium volition ever look astatine however helium plays and look astatine what defenses volition bash against him. He's not acrophobic -- helium ne'er volition beryllium -- to look astatine what helium needs to bash adjacent if it's uncomfortable.

"Those kinds of radical succeed, you know?"

SOME OPPOSING DEFENSIVE coaches person privately said that galore successful the league were initially caught disconnected defender by Nix's velocity and creativity arsenic a runner. Even Broncos manager Sean Payton admitted his coaching unit was surprised, too. That volition not beryllium the lawsuit moving guardant successful defending Nix, who ran for 430 yards and 4 touchdowns successful 2024.

"I ever bask this portion of it ... you spot antithetic looks based connected who you play from an hostile standpoint," Payton said. "One of his traits that I deliberation serves him good is his feet. He tin move. It's not ever a cleanable pocket. I deliberation erstwhile it gets a small muddy, helium makes bully decisions. He doesn't clasp onto the ball. ... We expect that to beryllium the same."

Nix has besides been searching for accusation astir throws that defenses volition effort to instrumentality distant successful the coming play portion continuing to hone the ones that worked best. He showed a precocious comfortableness level with crossing routes -- lone the Lions' Jared Goff had much passing yards connected crossing routes past play than Nix (693 to Nix's 651). Nix besides ranked 5th successful passing yards connected surface plays (467 yards). Those are abbreviated and intermediate plays that opposing coaches volition apt effort to region from Nix's progressions to unit him to propulsion much extracurricular the numbers, toward the sidelines.

Nix has looked astatine each dropback successful 2024, erstwhile helium completed 66.3% of his passes (15th successful the NFL) for 3,775 yards with 29 touchdown passes to 12 interceptions portion being sacked 24 times. He has adjacent polled Broncos' antiaircraft coaches, astir notably antiaircraft coordinator Vance Joseph, astir however opponents mightiness adjust.

"Being astir 'VJ' for a twelvemonth and knowing the defence that I'm going to get [in circumstantial situations] is simply a batch better," said Nix of his quality to spot the wide representation of the Broncos' playcalls.

Nix said helium besides learned the worth of resting his assemblage aboriginal successful the offseason, which included taking a interruption from throwing a football. Even though helium didn't miss a crippled successful 2024, helium dealt with a painful backmost injury during the past six weeks of the play -- helium suffered 3 transverse process fractures successful a Week 12 win implicit the Raiders -- and had arthroscopic ankle country instantly aft the play was over.

But helium has been afloat engaged successful the Broncos' OTA practices and is expected to beryllium the aforesaid for adjacent week's mandatory minicamp -- the Broncos' last on-field enactment successful their ceremonial offseason program.

"It's conscionable a batch of winding down and getting your assemblage right," Nix said. "That doesn't mean fixing things that are hurt. It's conscionable similar giving your legs immoderate remainder and not moving each day. Giving your enarthrosis immoderate remainder and not throwing. I didn't propulsion a shot for a while, but I was doing a batch of enarthrosis attraction and limb attraction and doing immoderate rotational enactment and doing antithetic things that were benignant of replacing the throw.

"That was bully due to the fact that I was capable to bash thing different, enactment connected my mechanics and tighten immoderate things up. I wasn't conscionable retired determination wasting throws. ... [I'm] feeling bully and feeling strong. Going to proceed that passim the summer."