Broncos rookie QB Bo Nix will not have an easy start to his NFL career

ENGLEWOOD, Colorado – The first day of work is always filled with nerves, uncertainty, a few sighs and deep breaths from the bottom of your heart, all in an attempt to relax.

And then there's his first game as an NFL rookie quarterback. That's what's on the agenda for Bo Nix, who will start at quarterback for the Denver Broncos against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at Lumen Field (4:05 p.m. ET, CBS).

“My first start? Four picks,” said former Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer. “I was throwing the wrong hot routes, and you learn in about 10 seconds that some days in the NFL you do everything right and people pile on you, and other days you're just not able to do anything.”

“But I look at Bo Nix and he now has football knowledge that took me years in the league to learn. These guys are now on whiteboards with gurus and coaches in high school. He is so much better prepared than I am or many others.”

As the No. 12 pick in the 2024 draft, Nix will be the first rookie quarterback in Sean Payton's 17 seasons as head coach to start a season opener and the first rookie QB to start a Broncos season opener since Hall of Famer John Elway in 1983.

The first few starts are almost always difficult, as even those who go on to become Hall of Fame inductees struggle at first. Elway completed 1 of 8 passes for 14 yards, four sacks, an intentional grounding penalty and an interception before being pulled from his opening day start against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1983 opening game.

“[It’s] “It wasn't what I had imagined at the time, but in this league it's all about getting up and asserting yourself. I noticed that right away,” Elway said of his debut.

Payton, who is entering his second season in Denver, has consistently spoken highly of Nix since the Broncos selected him with the sixth quarterback in the first round. Nix was officially announced as the winner of a quarterback competition against Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson on Aug. 21.

But Nix won't have the easiest start to the NFL season. Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald is a well-known defensive strategist who designed a Ravens defense that allowed the fewest points per game in the NFL (16.5) and scored the most expected points (112.8) on defense in 2023. His defense plays aggressively and creatively, willing to take risks and try things out.

“I learned a lot about Mike Macdonald when we were both in the Big Ten,” said Mike Sanford, a longtime college coach who promoted Jordan Love at Utah State University and was offensive coordinator at Minnesota in 2021 when Macdonald was defensive coordinator at Michigan.

“He goes out and studies people, and his roots are in some of the most creative blitzers – Jim Johnson, Chuck Pagano, Dean Pees. He just has a crazy catalog of ways to mess with the quarterback's eyes, and I'm sure he's thinking, 'How can I make Bo Nix's first day as an NFL starter one of the most difficult of his football life?'”

Nix performed well in his two preseason appearances. Against mostly Colts and Packers backups, Nix completed 23 of 30 passes for 205 yards, two touchdown passes and no interceptions while not taking a sack. The Broncos scored on six of the seven possessions Nix played on. That performance — Payton specifically mentioned Nix's sack avoidance, saying that “sacks are a big problem” in 2023 with Russell Wilson at quarterback — allowed the rookie to win the job.

Nix is ​​an unusual rookie, having played in 61 college games over five seasons at Auburn and Oregon. The COVID-19 pandemic and the additional season of eligibility have pushed the “games played” total to previously unheard of levels. There was a time when Philip Rivers topped the list of FBS players with his 51 career starts at NC State.

The 24-year-old Nix's maturity has been touted by Broncos coaches and teammates from the moment he came in as the best drafted quarterback since Jay Cutler was selected No. 11 in 2006. And Nix is ​​the kind of X's and O's grinder Payton wants at quarterback.

But Macdonald's renowned creativity will immediately test that maturity. And waiting in Week 2 is Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, who has decades of experience on defense and a team led by edge rusher TJ Watt, who has the most sacks in the NFL in two of the last three seasons. That's followed by two road games against defense-trained head coaches Todd Bowles of the Buccaneers and Robert Saleh of the Jets.

“I'm excited,” Nix said. “… [Seattle] has a lot of good players with a new scheme…it's going to be a hostile environment, but it's going to be fun, it's going to be a good first game…it's about keeping it simple, it's about going out there and doing your job.”

Payton has stated that he is ready and willing to “tailor” his system and weekly plans to help Nix get started in what Broncos general manager George Paton has called “the toughest job in professional sports.”

“It's a tough position to play,” Payton said. “I've said this before, it's certainly tough when you have trouble on defense or when you have trouble running. … When you get a young player like Bo Nix, he has certain skills – strengths and weaknesses. Hopefully we build on the strengths and then really minimize the things that a young player might face to get the season started.”

Nix said he will have a large circle of family and friends, including an uncle (Rusty Nix, brother of his father, former Auburn quarterback Patrick Nix) who hasn't missed a season opener since Bo Nix started playing organized football.

“That's the exciting thing about it. A lot of these close friends and family have been there from Day 1 and want to experience the journey,” Nix said. “… And you respect things like that, and it's the fun of playing, the memories and part of the journey, but you only get to play your first game once, you want to go out there and make the most of it.”