Broncos' Sean Payton doesn’t hold back about Bo Nix

“Specifically to Bo, he’s doing really well. He’s picking it up….He’s throwing the ball extremely well,” Payton stated to the Denver media.

Payton, of course, coached Drew Brees when he was at the helm of the New Orleans Saints. The coach even said that at least so far, Nix has some similarities to the soon-to-be Pro Football Hall of Famer who led the Saints to a Super Bowl championship in the 2009 season.

At Oregon, Nix led the NCAA with 4,508 passing yards and 45 passing touchdowns last season, and he even set a single-season record with a 77.4 percent completion rate. That earned him the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year Award and a third-place finish in the balloting for the Heisman Trophy.

One disadvantage Nix will have right away at the next level is that Denver doesn’t have a lot of talent at the skill positions, something Wilson had to deal with in his two seasons there.

Jerry Jeudy, arguably the team’s top threat at wide receiver for the last two years, left this offseason when he was traded to the Cleveland Browns. Meanwhile, Courtland Sutton, the Broncos’ other main threat at wideout, has been holding out of offseason workouts. It is believed he’s doing so because he wants a contract extension.

The reality is that the Broncos are in a rebuilding situation, and the good news is that it means Nix will have the luxury of developing at his own pace. No one outside of Colorado expects them to make the playoffs this coming season, so there shouldn’t be a ton of pressure on Nix to do well.

It is a much different situation than the one Wilson found himself in two years ago when plenty were tabbing the Broncos as Super Bowl contenders right away upon his arrival.

All of that being said, it will be very interesting to see what kind of role Bo Nix carves out in his rookie year with the Broncos and Payton. He has elite potential and all fans can do is hope that he reaches his ceiling.