Drew Brees deserves more attention and hype than he currently gets. A 13x Pro Bowler, Brees’ talent has often been compared to that of Peyton Manning. Looking back, he rarely, if ever, had a bad season. More than just his numbers, Brees always played with passion and joy for the sport. He is a Super Bowl champion and MVP! And the list of his accolades for his simple and impactful game is long. Learning from a legend like Brees is a golden opportunity for any young quarterback, and Broncos Bo Nix knows this better than anyone!
As several of his former teammates have shared over the years, Brees has always been someone who willingly extends support and mentorship to others. He often took the rookies under his wing. And now, it’s Bo Nix who’s soaking in the knowledge. As Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton shared, the 25-year-old had spent nearly four to five days in San Diego with Saints’ legend Brees. What did he learn during these days, and how is he going to use this against his opponents?
“Yeah, it was fun. Anytime you can spend some time with a guy like that, with that experience, um, just that mind and um, the knowledge of the game, just his routine and what he was able to do and more than anything, it’s just about sitting down and talking to him and um, you know, a lot of guys like that. You know, Peyton and Eli are the same way. It’s just anytime you can pick those guys’ brains and kind of stand in their shoes and see what they went through, and if you can pick up on any one thing, that’s a win in the conversation,” he told the reporters.
Further, the quarterback had earlier received mentorship from NFL legend Peyton Manning, too. Manning has been a great resource to the Broncos and the quarterbacks across the league since retiring in 2016. During the training camp, Nix expressed his gratitude for that opportunity, saying, “He’s always been so willing to reach out to me. He’s very good at being available to those young guys. He’s like that at the camp, he’s obviously like that with the Broncos players. I’m excited to seriously be around him and spend some time with him.”
Moving on, speaking highly of his quarterback, Payton said, “He’s someone who works his tail off, wants to improve, and the whole offseason is planned out. He’s gone and visited Brees for four or five days, and adds Tom House in here. There’s a lot that he wants to absorb in a fast period of time. That’s a great thing for a young player like that.”
The session could have been Payton’s idea. After all, he has coached Brees throughout his run with the New Orleans Saints from 2006 to 2020. The two also won the Super Bowl together. And it was not long before the media started comparing the two of his players.
While he acknowledged a few similarities, he didn’t agree with the rest. Nix also had a similar sentiment. Well, one thing is certain: now that the QB has spent much time with the legend, Nix has surely emerged as a more knowledgeable player than he was before.
Bo Nix’s unique talent left the new Broncos safety awestruck
Bo Nix has heard the noise before about the pre-draft criticism, the doubts about his arm strength. And he’s not buying into it. The Broncos’ rookie quarterback addressed those concerns head-on early in his NFL journey, brushing them off as inaccurate.
These critiques have followed him for years, even before Denver made him the 12th overall pick in last year’s draft. And while some corners of the football world haven’t stopped questioning his game, there’s been no shortage of voices pushing back in his defense, experts and analysts, scouts who see the bigger picture and believe in his upside.
That faith was seen inside the Broncos’ camp, too. New safety Talanoa Hufanga had nothing but praise after watching Nix spin it during training camp practices. “First and foremost, I think he’s just a smart player. Then you get on the field and you see how accurate he is and what kind of arm he has, especially at the first day at OTAs. The first ball was over everybody’s head, and I was like, ‘Wow.’ You have to account for those kinds of things. Not every game that you play in the NFL are you going to play a quarterback that can launch it that far. For him, he has that ability to just get it over the defense’s head, and that changes your perspective on how to play him,” Hufanga said.
Sure, the criticism probably won’t go away anytime soon. If anything, it might grow louder as Nix climbs the NFL ladder. But with each stride he takes, he’s earning more believers. And he is not the type to dwell on criticism. Instead, the Broncos quarterback remains focused on elevating his game. This can make all the difference.
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