Broncos QB Bo Nix Arrived in NFL 'Ready to Rock & Roll,' per Garett Bolles

If you polled Denver Broncos fans on who has most influenced the culture change of the previously losing organization, head coach Sean Payton and quarterback Bo Nix would likely first come to mind. 

When Nix pushed back toward his head coach with competitive fire during a spluttering Week 5 performance against the Las Vegas Raiders, the young quarterback undoubtedly branded his mark on the locker room. The Broncos would go on to win that game handily.

To his credit, Payton certainly didn't attempt to regain the upper hand. His reaction was both calm and measured. The Broncos' head coach was likely more than happy to embrace the very leadership traits that he had been looking for in the draft.

In that moment, a power duo was formed — one that could propel the Broncos way beyond their one-and-done playoff journey of 2024. Heading into their pivotal second year together, the expectations have dramatically shifted for Payton, Nix, and the entire organization. 

Despite the temperature rising more than a little, veterans, like Denver's longest tenured player, Garett Bolles, do not doubt that Nix has all the right stuff required to break through the glass ceiling. 

"He came in the league ready to rock and roll," Bolles said of Nix back on June 10. "The dude is a freak, and he's so composed and he's so calm. He's just a smart dude. He knows exactly where the ball's going to go. He can read defenses. He's calm and composed in the huddle. When you think a rookie comes in and leads a team, sometimes they get jitters or sometimes they get nervous, but that dude never had that." 

Building on Nix's outstanding rookie campaign will be fundamental to pushing the Broncos deeper into the ranks of the NFL's elite teams competing for a Super Bowl. While it's been easy to be impressed by what Nix has achieved thus far, the national narrative has often suggested that a sophomore slump is somehow more likely to plague Nix than other second-year quarterbacks. 

Nix successfully overcoming such pitfalls, and the associated cheap barbs, is always going to require sheer depth of character, traits that frequently jump out at Bolles. Nix's 61 college starts were an NCAA record when he entered the NFL, and his blindside protector sees that experience as a big reason for Nix hitting the ground running as a rookie.

"I think it just speaks volumes of how many offensive snaps he took in college, and coming in here and just being a leader and who he is," Bolles said of Nix. "He's the type of person that knows what he believes and what he stands up to believe in. He's never going to go away from that. I think that's what separates him from everybody else, is who he is as a person. The demeanor and the work ethic he has is what separates him." 

Nix's five-year NFL audition at Auburn and Oregon was an advantage — experience that attracted the Broncos as further evidence of his ideal match with Payton. Bolles feels that his experience helps Nix respond well to the hard coaching and tough love Payton gives his players. 

Bolles appreciates Payton's detail-oriented approach. In the veteran tackle's estimation, it helps the Broncos to prevail in critical situations in games.

"Coach Payton, I love him dearly," Bolles said. "I'm just super proud of him, that he chose to be a Denver Bronco. Just his coaching experience, his mindset and culture that he builds is so special. He works the hell out of us, that's for sure. I think when we get in those moments when it's crunch time and you have to score or you have to make a stop, I don't think we're afraid because he puts us in situations in practice to make us feel uncomfortable so that when we get in those moments, we can win those close games." 

Under more normal NFL circumstances, the development process within a team rebuild is incremental, especially with a second-year quarterback under center. However, that's certainly not the vibe Bolles is exuding, along with many other veterans.

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The Broncos' power duo of Payton and Nix has raised the bar and accelerated the team's turnaround in a staggeringly short period of time.