It is time for the Broncos to stop running from the truth.
Bo Nix is quick. Not by quarterback standards. By any standard. He cannot pass through a school zone without getting a ticket. He has eclipsed 20 mph on multiple runs, whether a scramble or designed.
As we reach the midway point of the season Sunday, coach Sean Payton needs to lean into the movie that is playing on the Mile High Jumbotron, “Fast & Curious.”
The prevailing opinion is that Nix was selected in the draft for his accuracy. He set records at Oregon, completing 75% of his passes over two seasons. But that school of thought will be tested over the next few months.
There is no way the Broncos are reaching the playoffs this season on Nix’s arm alone. He is not ready. He can get there. But right now when he drops back, he trips up.
With quarterbacks, their feet are connected to their eyes. Nix bounces because he does not trust what he is seeing. It has caused him to misfire on easy throws that, in theory, he will connect on with more experience.
But as he refines his arm mechanics, the Broncos cannot overlook his legs. There is a perception that quarterbacks who run cannot win. A running quarterback has never held the Vince Lombardi Trophy unless we bend the rules for Russell Wilson and Steve Young. Nix gets this, telling me earlier this week that he views the dual-threat tag as a compliment as “long as they give you credit for throwing the ball, too.”
Right now his arm is a complement to his legs. Nix should improve through the air, but Payton has to continue to use him on the ground. When the coach talked about it this week, he seemed to be warming to the idea. Understand, it is not what Payton wants. He loves passing and winning from the pocket. But the way Nix runs has been a revelation.
Nix can always scramble when opponents play man and turn their backs. Payton must incorporate designed runs with decision flexibility.
“No. 1, he’s fast. I think it’s a little bit of a plus maybe we didn’t necessarily see to that extent. We had a couple of design schemes last week, a third-down run, some read-option stuff. Things that can help our running game, and he’s smart enough to know how to protect himself,” Payton said. “Certainly it’s an asset.”
How much so is becoming impossible to avoid. He is athletic enough to turn the corner and faster than defenders think.
“I get that a lot,” Nix admitted.
He has game-day speed, running faster when chased than at a timed workout. And there is every reason to embrace this skill on Sunday vs. the Carolina Kittens. Undermined by injuries and an awful offense, Ejiro Evero, who is a good coach, is leading a defense that ranks last against the run (162.1 yards per game).
Chicago had the Go Go White Sox. Denver has the Go Bo Blue Socks.
Quarterback Bo Nix (10) of the Denver Broncos gains a first down after evading a tackle by linebacker Bud Dupree (48), not pictured, and outrunning linebacker Daiyan Henley (0) of the Los Angeles Chargers early in the third quarter during the second half of the Denver Broncos game at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver on Oct. 13, 2024. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)
Do you realize Nix is attempting to become the sixth rookie quarterback since the NFL merger to post three consecutive games of at least 60 rushing yards? The list includes two-time MVP Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Bobby Douglass and Vince Young. You wouldn’t take the career of the first three for Nix?
Sean, it’s time to call more quarterback runs. Bo knows.
“I think it’s an important part of the game. When you look at the times it happens and all that kind of stuff, it can be good for an offense. It can be used as a weapon,” Nix said. “That’s what we’re going to continue to use it for and just find ways to get explosives with my legs.”
You want more evidence? Nix has rushed for 255 yards and has four games with a run of at least 21 yards, including a career-high 32-yarder on a sweep against the Saints. Since Week 3, the Broncos rank fifth in the league in rushing with 706 yards. Nix accounts for 195.
“It gives us another element to our offense,” receiver Courtland Sutton said. “They have to worry about him.”
Or as left tackle Garett Bolles put it, “When he gets those open lanes, he is special.”
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This week, as Browns coordinator Jim Schwartz discussed facing Jackson, he identified him as a pass-first, run-second quarterback. Jackson is in his seventh season. The point? It takes time to develop.
Allen completed 56.3% of his passes in his first two seasons while rushing for 1,141 yards and 17 touchdowns. It created patience.
Nix is not as athletic as Allen or Jackson and certainly doesn’t possess their arm strength. However, they provide an intriguing template — that it is OK to run while figuring out how to pass.
It draws cringes from Broncos Country because it conjures images of Tim Tebow. Nix is not him. Or Tim. His 61.2% accuracy ranks 30th. Not good. But there is room to grow. The acorn becoming the tree and all of that.
Nix has not yet proven he can throw well enough. But he can win — a fifth victory Sunday would represent a Broncos rookie record — and protect the ball.
So, let’s operate in a world of what is, not what could be. Nix can scoot. That is the truth and this skill must be leveraged if the Broncos want to make a playoff run.
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