Bo Nix’s Second Season Comes With a Benefit He Never Had in College

The Broncos were among the surprise playoff teams in 2024, bouncing back from an 0-2 start to make the postseason for the first time in nine years. Denver emerged into a contender behind a burgeoning defense and rookie quarterback Bo Nix, who impressed after throwing for 3,775 yards and 29 touchdowns last year.

Heading into this season, the Broncos will no longer be overlooked, but they will also have a more experienced quarterback in Nix as he enters his sophomore campaign. Not only is Nix a season into his career, but after playing for five different offensive coordinators during his college career, he finally has the benefit of stability from one year to the next. Nix already developed strong command of the complicated Sean Payton offense as a rookie, and that should only grow with a second straight year in the same offense.

"It's amazing. I almost don't really know what it's like," Nix said of staying in the same offense while speaking to Sports Illustrated on behalf of Mizzen + Main. "It's nice to hear the same thing, doing the same thing on the field, just same mechanics, everything being the same is just a lot more comfortable. And I'm not really out there thinking as much. I can kind of just react and play, which is really good. It'll speed up the learning for the season, I feel like. So now I can just start faster."

As he prepares for his second NFL season, Nix has looked to get ahead in his own development. This included talking to Drew Brees this offseason, who provided insight on his own experience and preparation in Payton's system.

"I just got to pick up a lot of information [as the] new guy on the block, only going into second season," Nix said. "How I can accelerate my own learning and get to year three or four in year two."

Nix has not only taken in greater experience and knowledge of the system, but him and the Broncos also gained some postseason experience. After the Broncos didn't make the playoffs for nine seasons, they returned last year for the first time since 2015. While they exited in the wild-card round at the hands of the Bills, they gained that initial taste of playing in the postseason.

"It was fun to go out there and play a playoff game," Nix said. "Obviously, you want to go out and win every playoff game, but that's just not how it how it is most of the time. So we learned a lot. We're definitely going to, want to get back there and compete to get back there, and next time, go out there and win it and put ourselves in a better situation. I think we got a chance this year, and we're going to continue to play until that happens for us."

This year, making playoffs is no longer pleasant surprise, but the expectation. Payton has even expressed that the Broncos are capable of not just winning a playoff game, but the Super Bowl this time around. Though Nix is confident in the team, he also isn't ready to get ahead of himself.

"We still have a little bit of a chip on our shoulder," Nix said. "We're not necessarily satisfied. We're not going to be complacent. We're going to continue to try to be a better team each and every week."

Nix and the Broncos will begin working toward their second straight trip to the playoffs on Sunday, when they open the 2025 season against the Titans.