ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Not since 2014 when John Fox and Peyton Manning were running Denver's offense have the Broncos hit training camp with the same quarterback/head coach duo.
Bo Nix enters his season season under Sean Payton after leading Denver out of its nearly decade-long doldrums and ending the Broncos' long playoff drought last season.
To prepare for his second year in the NFL, Nix spent part of his offseason huddling with Drew Brees, the prolific passer who teamed up with Payton in New Orleans to produce one of the NFL's most productive offenses from 2006-2020. The duo won a Super Bowl in the 2009 season.
“It's him just reaching out and just coordinating some time to dive into the offense, the schedule, the calendar, his schedule, his workload in season,” Payton said Wednesday, adding that the pair had spent four or five days together.
Nix had a strong rookie season, completing 66.3% of his passes for 3,775 yards, 29 touchdowns and a dozen interceptions. He led Denver to a 10-7 record and a wild-card berth.
Nix said this spring that he had some much-needed downtime this offseason for the first time since entering college, which he figured would help him improve his game in 2025.
Nix “is someone that works his tail off, wants to improve,” Payton said. “The whole offseason is planned out. There's a lot he wants to absorb in a fast period of time and that's a great thing for a younger player like that. We're never going to just pick up where we left off, but there's a lot of building to do when you look at last year and a lot of positives to look at.”
Payton also said Nix spent time working with renowned throwing coach Tom House, the former Major League pitcher best known for catching Hank Aaron's 715th home run that broke Babe Ruth's record in 1974 and who has garnered accolades for his work with several star quarterbacks, including Tom Brady.
“It's fascinating. He's real smart. He's a baseball guy that's really done a great job with a lot of throwers," Payton said. “That's the best way to describe him, whether it's a baseball motion or a football motion, those opportunities we get to just have a lunch or sit and visit are pretty special for me. He's pretty sharp.”
NOTES: Courtland Sutton, Nik Bonitto, John Franklin-Myers and Zach Allen, all of whom are hoping for new contracts soon, participated in Wednesday's workout, helping produce a 100% day with only WR A.T. Perry out while on PUP with an ankle injury. Payton called it “one of the cleaner report dates that I can recall.” On the contract front, Payton said, “You're going to ask me about a few contracts — they're all being worked on. ... So, yeah, there's good communication and I'm just going to leave it at that.”
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