Broncos Rookie Watch 2024: Peyton Manning reveals one great advantage for Bo Nix

Get ready for Bo Nix mania in the Mile High City. In what wasn't a huge surprise, Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton announced the rookie quarterback as the Week 1 starter to open the 2024 NFL season. 

Following a successful season at the University of Oregon, the No. 12 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft dazzled in his two preseason appearances competing 23 of 30 pass attempts for 205 yards and 2 touchdowns.  While the numbers were great, it was mostly how Nix looked playing under Payton.

Compared to Drew Brees as far as NFL player comparisons, Nix showed off his accuracy, footwork and talented arm in securing the starting role over Jarrett Stidham.  Although Payton didn’t jump to anoint Nix the starter, the choice was a no-brainer with the way the 6-foot-2 rookie quarterback showed confidence in his deliverance.  If you are a Broncos fan, it’s hard not to get too hyped given its just the preseason, but after the way he’s performed in training camp and the preseason, the optimism can’t be ignored. 

Former Broncos quarterback already sees a great advantage for Bo Nix

Speaking of optimism, former Broncos quarterback and NFL Hall of Famer Peyton Manning weighed in on Nix and highlighted one advantage for the Broncos QB as he enters his rookie campaign in the NFL.

“He’s had a great camp,” Manning told reporters on Wednesday, as transcribed by AL.com. “He’s had a great offseason. He’s used the time. You knew his experience; his maturity would be an advantage for him. And he’s picked up the system quickly, you can tell. So happy for him. What a great opportunity. I know what that’s like, starting as a rookie in your first game. But he’ll be ready and pulling hard for him.”

What made Nix the sixth QB taken in the first 12 selections of the 2024 NFL Draft was that maturity Manning highlighted.  As a five-year starter in college, Nix is an NFL ready quarterback who is in the perfect situation to strive under a coach like Payton who has had the luxury of coaching the NFL quarterback Nix has been compared to.  Can Nix flourish as Brees did in Payton’s system?  If he even shows flashes of that in Year 1, it will be an interesting season for the Broncos in 2024 as Nix could be in position to be the rookie QB with the most success his first year.

But, as Manning went on to acknowledge, success in the Mile High City doesn’t just rest on Nix.  He’ll have to lean on and learn from the players around him to progress and excel as an NFL quarterback.  That’s the advice coming from one of the greatest signal callers in the NFL.

“He knows he’s gonna have to lean on his teammates and the veteran players have got to help him,” Manning continued.  “They’ve gotta do their part. They’ve gotta play good [defense], they gotta run the ball, gotta make plays for him. But he’ll be ready. As (Broncos head coach Sean Payton) said, he’s been a great student. The cerebral part of the game, he’s picked up. Look, it’s a marathon, not a sprint as a rookie. But I’m a fan of playing right away. Getting the experience is only going to make him better.”

As eyes will be on the quarterbacks taken at the top of the draft, Nix will garner attention with his play this upcoming season as he sets his eyes on becoming the next great quarterback in Denver, something the franchise has been waiting for since…well…since Peyton Manning himself.