Given Sean Payton’s previous success with Drew Brees, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Payton’s new quarterback, Bo Nix, spent time this offseason with his old one as Nix looks to build off of his successful rookie season.
The Denver Broncos‘ coach shared Wednesday that Nix spent time in San Diego with Brees after reaching out to him. Brees, who will be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the first time in 2026, enjoyed a historic partnership with Payton during their years together with the New Orleans Saints. Nix clearly wants to follow in Brees’ footsteps.
“It was him reaching out, coordinating some time to dive into the offense, the schedule, his calendar, his work week in-season,” Payton said of Nix’s time with Brees. “That’s what you’re looking for. He spent some time going there wanting to know more about the offense. It was him doing research at the position.”
Nix said earlier this offseason that he wanted to improve on some of the mechanics of the quarterback position. He added that doing that as a rookie was a challenge as he was more focused each week on preparing for Denver’s upcoming opponent.
Garett Bolles discusses Broncos’ breakthrough season and what makes Bo Nix special
Jordan Dajani
Payton was extremely complimentary of Nix’s offseason preparation, which is saying something. A Bill Parcells disciple, Payton gushing over a player is as frequent as a snowfall in Los Angeles. That may be why Payton emphatically dismissed the narrative of Nix possibly having a sophomore slump.
“I’m trying to think of the MTV one-hit wonders, and there’s not a lot of them that come to mind,” Payton said. “It’s a term we use, but I can’t think examples that match that term of rookie quarterbacks that excelled and then all of a sudden what happened in the second year?”
Payton is right. In the NFL’s 105-year history, few quarterbacks have failed to pan out following a rookie season like the one Nix enjoyed last season. The few that did fail to duplicate their success as rookies (i.e. Greg Cook and Robert Griffin III) were due to injuries.
Instead of regressing, it’s clear that Payton has high hopes for Nix for the 2025 season and beyond. And while it’s way too soon to start comparing him to Brees, Nix is putting himself in position to have his own run of sustained success with Payton as his coach.
Go to Source
Author: Bryan DeArdo
July 23, 2025 | 8:16 pm
