Bo Nix is walking into this season with a different kind of edge.
The Denver Broncos quarterback has spent much of the offseason under a microscope for his health, and his preseason cameo did at least quiet one part of the conversation. Nix showed he can move and still play effectively, which matters because the alternative would have made everything else a lot harder.
Once that box was checked, the usual preseason chatter took over. Sean Payton even took aim at former offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz after Schwartz leaned into the familiar criticism that Nix can’t make throws down the middle and push the ball vertically.
But the more interesting shift isn’t the noise around Nix. It’s Nix himself.
During his media availability this week, he described the change in plain terms, telling Nick Kosmider of The Athletic:
“Year 1, I’m trying to just not mess up for the team,” Nix said. “I feel like Year 3, I’m trying to make plays for the team.
It’s just quite the different feeling. It’s just a confidence-level thing.”
That’s the story here: a quarterback who sounds less like he’s surviving and more like he’s driving.
What he didn’t spell out was the middle ground in Year 2, when his season had a little of everything. There were stretches when the Broncos struggled to get traction, and there were also moments when Nix kicked into another gear and looked, at times, like a top five quarterback. The question now is whether that version becomes the regular one.
Tight end Adam Trautman thinks the answer starts with trust.
“The one thing you’re seeing from him is he’s trusting his throws - a lot,” said Trautman. “With his timing, there are some tight windows he’s throwing into now that maybe before, in years past, it was, ‘Eh, maybe I’m not going to take a shot there.
I’m going to check it down.’ He’s trusting himself, and it’s cool to see because you can always get the ball.
It doesn’t matter what you’re feeling in coverage; he’ll rip it in there.
“He’s coming in here now, and it’s not like, ‘Oh, I’m afraid to mess up.’ It’s ‘Now I’m the guy.
I need to get better, too. I need to trust the things that I’ve worked on in the offseason.’
This is the best training camp he’s had, for sure.”
That confidence has shown up in another telling way: Nix is no longer avoiding Pat Surtain II in camp.
Quarterbacks usually don’t go looking for that matchup, but Nix said he’s approaching it differently now.
“My first two years, if (Surtain) was over there, I pretty much worked to the other side of the field, but I don’t think that does him (any) diligence,” Nix said. “Now that I feel a little bit more confident and comfortable, I don’t mind throwing it his way and getting an incompletion on the stat sheet just to help him out every once in a while.
“He does a really good job, and every once in a while, when we get to complete one on him, it kind of feels good for the morale of the offense. It shows us that we’re also really good and we can attack the best player in football on defense.”
Zach Allen has seen the same thing from the other side of the ball. The Broncos defensive tackle said Nix is reading defenses with a level of comfort that stands out, and that his quick release is a big part of why sacks are so hard to come by.
“It’s second to none,” Allen said. “It really is impressive how elite he is.
The big thing everyone talks about is how few sacks he takes. It really is a struggle.
The offensive line he has is really good, but he gets the ball out quick. Seeing him be comfortable in his third year is awesome.”
That’s where Nix is now: healthier, more assertive, and far less interested in simply getting through the day.
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