As soon as Bo Nix became an NFL draft prospect, he was compared to Drew Brees. How much you could attribute the Nix/Brees comps to Sean Payton now being the head coach of the quarterback-needy Denver Broncos and the player's actual skill set is debatable.
However, despite Nix and Brees being very different players, there are some similarities to their respective games. On Tuesday, Payton was asked if there's anything about Nix that reminds of Brees.
“Their personalities are different. I’d say—all right, we’re looking for similarities," Payton said. "I would say mentally, [Bo] wants to know as much and as fast as he can. He’s the son of a coach. Drew wasn’t necessarily the son of a coach, but this group of quarterbacks, in general, are kind of like gym rats. They enjoy the process."
Translation? Nix's passion for and enjoyment of the entire process reminds Payton of Brees, the quarterback he coached for 15 years with the New Orleans Saints. Payton didn't stop there, though. He also pointed to Nix's accuracy, maturity, and relative experience as commonalities, too.
"I think there’s maybe a maturity level because again, he’s played 61 games and when [the Saints] got Drew, it was off of his rookie contract and coming off an injury," Payton said. "He locates the ball well, and he’s accurate, and I think Drew was."
Indeed, Nix entered the 2024 draft as the most experienced college quarterback of all time. Those 61 career starts Payton referenced are an NCAA record.
That created a lot of sample size for Payton and the Broncos to analyze. Throw in what Nix accomplished throughout that span, including the obstacles he had to overcome — another Brees commonality — and it only made the Broncos more confident in taking him at No. 12 overall.
Brees was the No. 32 overall pick in the 2001 draft, right before the league expanded via the Houston Texans to 32 teams. One year later, he'd have been a late first-round pick instead of the first selection on Day 2.
Although Brees didn't see playing time as a rookie, the then-San Diego Chargers gave him the reins in Year 2, where he'd go 8-8 as a starter. 2003 saw Brees take a significant step backward, along with the Chargers, but he broke out in Year 4, leading the Chargers to an 11-4 finish and earning his first career Pro Bowl nod.
Oddly, that Pro Bowl campaign came on the heels of the Chargers drafting Eli Manning at No. 1 overall, trading him to the New York Giants, and acquiring the No. 4 overall pick Philip Rivers in exchange, along with some other compensation. Brees had something to prove, and he did just that, keeping Rivers on the bench with aplomb.
The 2005 season saw Brees produce 3,576 yards and 24 touchdowns, with 15 interceptions, leading the Chargers to a 9-7 finish. He would suffer a brutal, career-threatening injury to his throwing shoulder in the season finale vs. the Broncos.
That gave the Chargers the convenient excuse to get the Rivers era started. Brees departed on what he hoped would be a whirlwind free-agent tour, but only two teams expressed any interest in him, fearing that shoulder. Payton and the Saints were one of them, and the rest is history.
Every time Brees was doubted or faced an obstacle, he rose to the occasion and answered the bell. That's been the story on Nix's young career, too, and the Broncos hope that the negativity and doubt aimed at their first-round quarterback, and the resulting chip on his shoulder, will redound to similar vindication and triumph.
