As the Denver Broncos With their new starting quarterback navigating uncharted waters, many analysts and former coaches have gone on record to note how Bo Nix has impressed them. At this point, legendary coaching icon Bill Belichick can be counted among the admirers of the Broncos’ rookie quarterback and Sean Payton’s hand-picked man.

“Bo Nix looks a lot like Denver, the way he looked at Oregon,” Belichick said during a conversation with Michael Lombardi. “High pass completion percentage, 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 play you’ve ever seen. But they’re all solid plays and he doesn’t hurt the team. Doesn’t give the ball away and makes good decisions.”

It’s not the first time we’ve heard Belichick praise Nixand it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to hear the vaunted former head coach highlight the rookie’s acumen in the short passing game that has traditionally been a hallmark of the Payton offense. Starting with a tough away game against the Seattle Seahawks requires Nix to make positive plays and limit negatives like turnovers. Not every play, as Belichick astutely noted, has to be spectacular to earn a win.

For all the intellectual attributes that made Payton fall in love with Nix during the draft process, the Broncos head coach can now incorporate more aspects of the passing game than Russell Wilson seemed able to last year.

Additionally, Belichick has also seen Payton’s crafty athleticism early on, giving him the chance to push the boundaries of his abilities even further with the 24-year-old.

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

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While it’s highly unlikely that Payton will fully open up the offensive playbook for his rookie passer, the Broncos’ intentions will become bolder if a win actually comes. For now, the most immediate goal is to set the table with a season-opening victory, which will require safely navigating the hostile “12th man” crowd at Lumen Field.

No one is underestimating the magnitude of the challenge ahead, but Payton sounds relaxed and believes Nix has enough experience to handle the challenges that lie ahead.

“It’s going to be loud,” Payton said earlier this week. “I imagine there are some similarities to when Oregon went to Washington and they played in front of thousands of people. That’s another loud stadium an hour away. So we’re going to have crowd noise this week. This won’t be the first game we’ve played where it’s loud.”

Every journey begins with taking the first step.

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