Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton officially named rookie first-round pick Bo Nix as Denver’s new No. 1 quarterback on Wednesday, which was expected. Nix is now slated to start opening day in Seattle against the Seahawks. He’ll also start against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2, the much anticipated Russell Wilson revenge game at Mile High.
Nix, who was the 12th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, led seven drives in the preseason, and the Broncos scored on six of them. Nix also started 61 games in college at Oregon, so he’s considered to be NFL-ready. Nix will be first Broncos rookie QB to start Week 1 since Hall of Famer John Elway in 1983.
Payton, who was future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees’ longtime head coach in New Orleans, sees some Brees-like traits in Nix.
“All right, we’re looking for similarities. I would say mentally, [Nix] wants to know as much and as fast as he can,” Payton said, via DNVR Sports. “I think there’s maybe a maturity level because, again, [Nix] played 61 games [in college] and when [the Saints] got Drew, it was off of his rookie contract and coming off an injury.”
He also mentioned that Nix “locates the ball well and he’s accurate” in the same way Brees was.
However, Payton also noted that they’re not exactly the same player. “Their personalities are different,” Payton said. “[Nix is] the son of a coach. Drew wasn’t necessarily the son of a coach.”
Under Mike Tomlin, the Steelers are the definition of “dominant” against rookie quarterbacks as the squad boasts a 24-6 record against first-year signal callers. In addition, the Steelers have won nine of their last 11 matchups against rookie quarterbacks, dating back to the 2016 season.
The Steelers have a perilous history in Denver, however. The last time Pittsburgh went there was 2018, when they lost 24-17. Before that, the last time the Steelers had gone to the Mile High City was when they lost in the 2015 playoffs to the eventual Super Bowl Champions.
But the Steelers’ trip to face the Broncos is difficult early in the season. Since 1990, the Broncos are 34-7 in the first two weeks at home. Part of that is due to the brutal elevation change, but Denver is only 1-4 in their last five home games in the first two weeks of the season since 2019, according to Warren Sharp.
The Steelers-Broncos Week 2 matchup certainly should be interesting, especially with the Russell Wilson-Sean Payton headlines. The two have a lot of bad blood. Former NFL quarterback and current NBC Sports analyst Chris Simms thinks Payton will do everything in his power to stick it to Wilson.
“Never easy playing in Denver. You know, Sean Payton’s gonna want to make a point there and go, ‘Wait, I’m not gonna let the guy that I wasted all this salary cap on, and moved on from, and had to waste all this time talking about and blah, blah, blah. I don’t want him to come in here and win that game.’ I know Sean Payton. He’s chippy. He’s certainly not gonna want that. Definitely not,” Simms said during a Pro Football Talk live episode.