New Denver Broncos running back RJ Harvey and wide receiver Pat Bryant underscored what has become clear about Bo Nix. The Broncos’ second-year quarterback and 2024 first-round pick is a willing ambassador.
Both rookies added to the chorus line of players who have revealed Nix reached out to them in some capacity before or after they joined the team.
It is another noteworthy step as the Broncos maximize a critical window with Nix under center.
“From my understanding, Bo Nix has already reached out and welcomed every Broncos draft pick to the team,” DNVR Broncos’ Zac Stevens posted on X on May 10 following the first day of media availability at Broncos rookie minicamp. “Really cool.”
Nix set numerous rookie franchise passing records and snapped the Broncos’ playoff drought in 2024.
His greatest skill off the field may be as a salesman and welcoming committee.
Broncos Rookies Rave About Bo Nix
Harvey, who has already earned the nickname “Quadzilla,” told reporters that he had hoped to land with the Broncos in the draft, and the former UCF Golden Knights star cited Nix as the key.
Nix played for UCF head coach Gus Malzahn at Auburn.
“Me and Bo been talking. I seen him today, earlier today. And, yeah, he’s a great guy,” Harvey said on May 10. “I love how he plays, and I feel like it’s a great team. Had a great year last year, and young team, great defense, and I’m just ready to get to work with every all the vets and yeah everybody that’s coming.
“He’s a competitor. I feel like he’s just like me; I got that quarterback mindset as well, and I want to win. I want to dominate every play, and I feel like he’s just like that.”
Moreover, Nix has led from Day 1.
Harvey, a converted QB, called that background an “advantage.”
He also said that he is aiming to “be better” than the backs who played under Broncos head coach Sean Payton before him, to whom he has been compared since his arrival with the No. 60 overall pick of the 2025 draft.
Per Stevens, Bryant said Nix had already contacted him, too, which was “pretty cool.” Bryant also raved about teaming up with Nix after the draft.
“I’ve seen a lot of great things. It’s crazy because I was just at the Senior Bowl with Tez Johnson, his adopted brother, and we were kind of talking about him [Johnson] and his dream of playing with him [Nix],” Bryan said, per The Athletic’s Nick Kosmider on May 10. “Just having an opportunity to play with a great quarterback like Bo Nix, it’ll be very, very special.”
Rookie third-rounder Sai’vion Jones said Nix, “Welcomed me to the league,” per Stevens.
Nix also sent out a message of apparent support after the Broncos selected Jahdae Barron with the No. 20 overall pick despite pre-draft links to the highly-touted crop of running back prospects in the 2025 class.
Bo Nix Kept in Touch With Free Agents
Before the draft, Nix was hot on the veritable recruiting trail for the Broncos. Nix told Altitude Sports in March that he stayed in contact with prized offensive free agent signing Evan Engram. Engram said Nix was also in the team facilities on his visit.
“I think it was looking at all that, and then saying, ‘Is this quarterback good enough to fulfill this and allow me to maximize my potential in this offense?’” Engram’s trainer, Drew Lieberman, said of the tight end’s decision, per The Denver Post’s Luca Evans on April 6. “And then, I think, when you turn Bo on, (Evan) was like, ‘Oh, not only is he good enough, like, he’s really good. Like, he’s really tough, he can make all the throws, he’s athletic.’
“(Evan) was like, ‘Yeah, like, this dude walks around like he knows what he’s doing,’”
Safety Talanoa Hufanga said he and fellow former San Francisco 49ers star Dre Greenlaw both viewed Nix as a selling point to joining the Broncos in free agency.
Chris Harris Jr. believes Bo Nix is a big recruiter for the Broncos: “Everyone wants to be a part of it…”
…just like how Peyton Manning was.
@heykayadams | @ChrisHarrisJr
Having a good quarterback on a rookie contract is a key goal of every organization without an established passer. Nix proved that much on the field in 2024. And in 2025, he has shown that he can and will play an active role in helping the Broncos acquire and welcome new talent.
