Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix has thrived in his first two seasons in the league by using his mobility. Despite having season-ending surgery before the AFC Championship game due to a fractured ankle, the Broncos have no plans to limit Nix’s mobility aspect of his game.
Denver Broncos QB Bo Nix to be completely clean mobility wise
As Bo Nix gets ready to take the field next week for mandatory minicamp months after season-ending ankle surgery, and a month or so removed from a cleanup procedure, whether or not he would lean on his mobility going forward was a question mark this offseason.
So much of Nix’s game translates well to today’s NFL because he can win from within the pocket, but his mobility adds a special flair to who he is as a quarterback and where he can continue to grow. Coming out of college, he was one of the least sacked quarterbacks in the nation at Oregon.
That has translated to the NFL as well, with Nix being sacked 46 times in two years. For context, Nix has more total touchdowns (54) than he’s been sacked in his young career. He has eyes in the back of his head, and being able to use his legs has won the Broncos games and has helped Nix tie Russell Wilson for the most wins by a quarterback in their first two years in NFL history (24).
It’s normal to wonder if an ankle injury changes that aspect of his game, but Broncos head coach Sean Payton said that Nix’s mobility is one of his best traits, and there won’t be any change in how Bo will use that going forward.
“He’s going to be completely clean mobility-wise,” Payton said. “I understand the question. He’s out here, today, like going through two-minute reps, walkthrough reps. There won’t be… He’s young, and one of his great assets is his ability to avoid sacks and escape from the pocket. I don’t think you’ll see that hindered at all. I think Year 3, personnel carry over, a lot of those things will continue to help him. We love how he’s played in the first two years.”
For Bo, he’ll have the same exact starting offensive line for the third consecutive season and if the offense can find a way to create a more sustainable and consistent run game, Nix may not have to use his mobility as much as he’s had to in his first two seasons, where he’s been Denver’s leading rusher in various games.
“You’re constantly looking at the looks you’re running into and how much you want to do at the line relative to changing plays,” Payton said. “I’ve been with [Offensive Run Game Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach] Zach [Strief] for so long that we can have these meetings about where we want it to go, what’s the strength of our unit. Like, ‘What do we do well?’ and then try to build around that. I think there were probably a number of reasons why it was really good during the middle stretch, and then when you lose someone like [RB J.K.] Dobbins, then obviously there’s more stress on everybody else. We’re excited about where it’s going, and certainly we understand how important it is, not only for the team but for our defensive success, and time of possession and all of those things that play a complementary role in playing good defense.”
Mandatory minicamp takes place next week, where we’ll have access to each practice.