Denver Broncos QB Bo Nix has a new admirer in Bill Belichick

As Denver Broncos As the Broncos enter uncharted waters with their new starting quarterback, many analysts and former coaches have publicly stated how impressed they were with Bo Nix. We can now count legendary coaching icon Bill Belichick among the admirers of the Broncos' rookie quarterback and Sean Payton's hand-picked man.

“Bo Nix looks very similar in Denver as he does in Oregon,” Belichick said during a conversation with Michael Lombardi. “High percentage of successful passes, can move the ball, can move the team. Athletic enough and a good decision maker. He doesn't hurt the team. I'm not saying every play is the best you've ever seen. But they're all solid plays and he doesn't hurt the team. Doesn't lose the ball and makes good decisions.”

It is not the first time We heard Belichick praise Nixand it should not be too surprising that the much-vaunted former head coach highlights the rookie's feel for the short passing game, which has traditionally been a hallmark of the Payton offense. He started with a tough away game against the Seattle Seahawks will require Nix to make positive plays and limit negative ones like turnovers. As Belichick astutely noted, not every play has to be spectacular to win.

Despite all the intellectual traits that made Payton fall in love with Nix during the draft, the Broncos head coach can now incorporate more aspects of the passing game that Russell Wilson seemingly didn't have the confidence to do last year.

In addition, Belichick has also recognized this hidden athletic talent, which gives Payton the opportunity to push the 24-year-old's limits a little bit early on.

“Yeah, it didn't seem like the game was too fast for him,” Belichick said of Nix. “He actually seemed pretty relaxed. I know it's preseason, he doesn't get a lot of plays, but he did what he could and that's pretty impressive. Accuracy, especially on passes like screen passes, bubble passes, slants and things like that – those balls are spot on. They're accurate. And then there's a lot of yards after the catch.”

What happens next in the Broncos beat? Don't miss out on news and analysis! Take a second to sign up for our free newsletter and get the latest Broncos news delivered to your inbox daily!

While it's highly unlikely that Payton will let his rookie passer run the entire offensive playbook just yet, if wins do come, the Broncos' intentions will become bolder. Right now, the most immediate goal is to cover the standings with a season-opening win, which will surely require navigating the hostile 12th Man crowd at Lumen Field.

No one is underestimating the enormity of the challenge ahead, but Payton sounds relaxed, confident that Nix has enough experience to handle what's coming his way.

“It's going to be loud,” Payton said earlier this week. “I would imagine there will be similarities to Oregon's performance in Washington, where they play in front of thousands of fans. That's another loud stadium an hour down the road. So we're going to have to deal with crowd noise this week. This won't be the first game where it's loud.”

Every journey begins with the first step.