ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Shortly after Bo Nix was named the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos last week, he fielded a phone call from the team’s owner, Greg Penner.
In what Penner described as a “great conversation” with the 24-year-old rookie, the two talked about how the competition had unfolded, with Penner praising the “poise and maturity” Nix had shown since arriving in Denver as the No. 12 pick in April’s NFL Draft. Then, Penner provided reassurance, with the Sept. 8 regular-season opener against the Seattle Seahawks fast approaching.
“All rookies are going to go through some ups and downs in their first season,” Penner said Thursday, shortly after he and other members of the organization’s leadership broke ground on a new training facility that is set to open in 2026. “And I told him, ‘We’re going to support you.’”
Let the work begin. 👷♂️👷♀️
Owner & CEO Greg Penner, Owner Carrie Walton Penner, Pres. @dleech9 and representatives from CommonSpirit & Arapahoe County celebrate the official groundbreaking of our new training facility: pic.twitter.com/Cyihmvq0TZ
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) August 29, 2024
It was a simple message but an important one. There is considerable optimism building around Nix as his NFL debut approaches. It reached a fever pitch Aug. 18 when he completed 8 of 9 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown in a preseason victory over the Green Bay Packers, emphatically ending any doubt about whether he’d earn the starting role. Nix will be Denver’s seventh Week 1 starter in the past nine seasons, but his impressive training camp and preseason performances have created optimism that he will be the quarterback to finally stop the carousel from spinning.
“I think he’s got some incredible traits,” Penner said.
But to think Nix could wade through his rookie season without struggles, potentially even prolonged ones, would be to ignore the history of other quarterbacks in his position. From 2021 to 2023 alone, nine quarterbacks were drafted in the first round. Only four — Trevor Lawrence, C.J. Stroud, Bryce Young and Anthony Richardson — remain with the teams that drafted them. Stroud was a revelation last season with the Houston Texans. He threw for 4,108 passing yards, third most among rookies in NFL history, and led his team to the divisional round of the playoffs. But virtually every other quarterback in the group struggled as a rookie, Lawrence included.
It’s not a new phenomenon. John Elway was benched twice during his rookie year in 1983. Peyton Manning threw 28 interceptions during his debut season with the Indianapolis Colts in 1998. Nix now stares up at both of those quarterbacks’ retired numbers atop Empower Field at Mile High when he warms up for home games. History all but guarantees Nix will fail at certain points this season. It will feel heavy. Penner wanted Nix to know others will help carry that burden.
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Broncos right tackle Mike McGlinchey, who was with the San Francisco 49ers in 2021 when they traded up to the No. 3 pick to select Trey Lance, said he understands “there is a lot of pressure on (Nix’s) shoulders” because of the expectations that come with being a first-round pick. It’s already evident, McGlinchey said, that Nix is adept at compartmentalizing those external forces, but sometimes an assist still helps. Take that preseason game against the Packers. During Denver’s second possession, just as the Broncos were finding a groove and nearing the red zone, a holding call pushed them back to first-and-20.
“We were in the huddle, and Mike McGlinchey said something great,” Nix recalled. “He said, ‘Just one play at a time.’ So that sets us all and gets us in a one-play focus. We were able to get back to second-and-10 and then get a first down. … Sometimes you’re going to be faced with that, and you want to overcome those because it’s not always going to be pretty.”
After Nix picked up 10 yards on a first-down scramble, he hit Courtland Sutton for 23 yards. The Broncos scored two plays later on Nix’s pass to Tim Patrick.
Of course, the issues won’t always be that easy to overcome. It’s critical to remember that Nix hasn’t yet played in a game against a team’s top-ranked defense. The skills he has exhibited in camp — steadiness in the pocket, a quick release, good tempo while directing the offense — should be transferrable against stiffer competition. But the transition won’t be seamless. It rarely is for rookie quarterbacks.
“I think it’s just staying the course, right?” McGlinchey said. “It’s not overreacting or underreacting to anything. No matter what the results are … I think it’s just maintaining a level of composure for the rest of the 52 of us besides Bo to help us out and do his job. We understand the position he is in. We understand there is a lot of pressure on his shoulders. Everybody wants him to succeed greatly here, but it doesn’t mean he has to press and do something special every single day. He just has to do his job.”
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The Broncos have been building a system to support a rookie quarterback since before Nix arrived. They have put together one of the NFL’s highest-paid offensive lines. Outside of new center Luke Wattenberg, the other four players have at least three prior seasons of starting experience. There is a brain trust of head coach Sean Payton, offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, passing game coordinator John Morton and senior assistant Pete Carmichael that has worked together for years and produced some of the league’s best offenses. And Nix works daily with a quarterbacks coach, Davis Webb, who is considered one of the rising assistants in the league.
“I really believe that they’re putting him in a good situation,” backup quarterback Zach Wilson said of Nix. “Sean has done a phenomenal job, and the guys that we get to hang out with. … We have a great offensive staff. And then Bo just continued to keep getting better. So I’m excited to see what he can do, and I think he’s ready for it.”
Wilson was one of five quarterbacks drafted in the first round in 2021. Only Lawrence of the Jacksonville Jaguars, the No. 1 pick that year, remains with the team that drafted him. The Broncos hope Nix will still be their quarterback when the glittering new facility they broke ground on Thursday opens two years from now. For that to be the case, the support Penner promised must be delivered when challenges inevitably arise.
“It’s just taking things as they come,” McGlinchey said. “No overreactions or dramatic changes of the course, things that just cause more problems. You have to be able to see things with a clear set of eyes and separate yourself from the story that’s going on. Trust yourself, trust your gut and trust what you’re seeing. It’s our job to help him do that.”
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(Photo: Marc Lebryk / USA Today)
