For Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, one might think that the second year should mean more at his disposal, with more of Sean Payton’s offense to run.
But that isn’t necessarily the case.
“I don’t think it’s putting more on his plate. I hear that referenced a lot,” the Broncos head coach said during a conference call with Denver-area media Monday. “I think it’s a little bit more of what he’s used to and how he operates within it more efficiently, more quickly, more decisively.”
That goes hand-in-hand with something Nix mentioned during the offseason, when he noted that a major difference from Year One to Year Two was that he was “not thinking” as much prior to the snap — specifically about matters such as his footwork and relaying the playcall in the huddle.
That’s evident to Payton after going through training camp and the preseason.
“So, I think if I used a good analogy, it would be a certain play a year ago, the same play this year, he’s out of the huddle a little quicker with the call, maybe he understands the nuances of the play, and has seen the cut-ups of it all year and is a little bit more comfortable with the same play from a year ago,” Payton said.
Still, the process of growth with Nix in the Broncos’ offensive scheme was not a matter of simply picking up where they ended the 2024 season.
“I’ve told the coaches, early in the season it has to be a process. It’s not, ‘All right, this is where we ended last year. Now we’re on to –,” Payton said, tailing off.
BRONCOS OFFENSE WILL FOCUS ON CORE COMPETENCIES EARLY
As Payton noted last week, a focus for the offense — especially early in the season — will be on doing the things its players can do best.
“Early in the season, be careful there’s not too much,” Payton said last week. “Let’s get to the things that we, as a group offensively, do well, the things that [Nix] really feels comfortable with. There’ll be a few twists. Each team has a different defensive structure, but I think the mistake would be this large jump in volume.”
What he wants to see is the little things within each play done well.
“It’s never about the amount; it’s the details within each play. The details for [WR Courtland] Sutton, [WR Pat] Bryant, [WR Troy] Franklin. It’s the details with everyone,” Payton said.
“[Nix can move as that group can move. We always talk about painting a picture for the ‘Q’. We might love a play, and yet are we there yet at tight end or receiver? We just have to make sure we’re moving.”
And for all of the Broncos’ progress, this is an offense that will feature a rookie running back receiving significant snaps in RJ Harvey, a second-year wide receiver in Troy Franklin who is set for an expanded role after playing infrequently last year, and a veteran tight end in Evan Engram who is new to the scheme.
Added atop that is Nix, who will make his 19th start — including postseason — next Sunday against Tennessee.
“We’re still a young offense,” Payton said.
And thus, a Broncos offense defined less by what it is right now and more by what it can eventually become.
