Ed McCaffrey Pinpoints 3 Offseason Keys to Broncos Launching Bo Nix

Ed McCaffrey says the Denver Broncos have come a long way, but the legendary former player sees a few keys to building on the 2024 season and around Bo Nix.

DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 15: Denver quarterback Bo Nix (10) in action during a game between the Denver Broncos and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, CO on September 15, 2024. / Kevin Langley / IMAGO / Icon Sportswire

If anybody knows what it takes to win a Super Bowl, it's Ed McCaffrey. He won three World Championships as an NFL wide receiver — including back-to-back titles with the Denver Broncos — in the 1990s.

McCaffrey is a football guy who raised football sons, a few of which have played in the NFL. Most fans know Christian McCaffrey, who became a household name at running back.

Ed has stuck around the Mile High City since hanging up his cleats following the 2003 season. Coaching Valor Christian High School for several years and later, taking the head-coaching gig at the University of Northern Colorado, it's safe to say that he knows how the football sausage gets made.

After a near decade of living in the NFL doldrums, McCaffrey appreciates the strides the Broncos took in 2024, led by head coach Sean Payton and rookie quarterback Bo Nix.

"I think it was a vast improvement from the previous couple of years," McCaffrey told former teammate Steve Atwater via the team website.

The Broncos won 10 games last season and made the playoffs. Although it was an early exit from the NFL's postseason tournament, the team took a quantum leap forward in Year 1 of the Payton/Nix era.

McCaffrey gives Payton and Nix the credit they deserve, but the former Pro Bowl receiver highlighted the Broncos' ownership group as the wellspring of the team's newfound success.

"I think it started with our ownership group. The Walton/Penner ownership group is unbelievable," McCaffrey said. "They've shown the fanbase they're willing to do what it takes to put a winning team out on the field. [They] went all out and hired Sean Payton— a coach who's won a Super Bowl. He's a tough coach. He's an old-school coach. He wanted the right guy at the quarterback position to give his team a chance to win. They found that guy in Bo Nix." 

Indeed, hiring the right coach to lead a team is the first step in climbing the NFL mountain and it's not easy to find that guy. But the Walton/Penners gave big money into Payton, relinquishing a first and second-round draft pick to New Orleans for his coaching rights and telegraphing to Broncos Country that they're willing to invest to finally right the ship.

Getting the right coaching vision in the fold and a guy who can cultivate a winning locker-room culture was a huge first step for the Broncos' new owners, but the next great hurdle was the quarterback position. The Broncos had a true conundrum on their hands under center, having traded an arm and a leg to acquire Russell Wilson from Seattle and signing him to a quarter-billion-dollar contract extension before he ever took a regular-season snap.

Payton gave it the old college try with Wilson in 2023, and while the veteran's numbers improved dramatically in several key statistical areas, the Broncos only won eight games. That was three more than the previous year, granted, but Payton had seen enough by Week 16, benching Wilson for the final two games in the face of enormous media blowback.

The Walton/Penners gave Payton the prerogative to make that decision, though, as well as the painful call to release Wilson to the tune of an NFL-record $85 million dead-money charge to the salary cap. Payton would enter the 2024 offseason upside down on the salary cap, which set off a chain reaction of several other tough personnel decisions, including the release of safety Justin Simmons.

The Broncos had to get skinny on the cap, which meant they had to go young across the roster. Relying on the team's youth would be a necessity, for better or worse, as was finding Payton's ideal quarterback in the 2024 NFL draft. Enter Nix at pick No. 12 overall. Bingo.

Nix would go on to win the starting job out of camp and start all 17 games. The going was a bit bumpy early on as the Broncos got out to an 0-2 start, but it was about what you'd expect from a rookie quarterback learning on the job. But Nix turned a corner in October, winning Offensive Rookie of the Month, as he led the Broncos back into plus-.500 territory in the standings.

McCaffrey laid out why Nix was able to hit the ground running and produce one of the best rookie quarterback campaigns of all time, even though he ultimately came up short in the Offensive Rookie of the Year sweepstakes.

"He had a lot of experience in college. He had a lot of success in college," McCaffrey said of Nix. "He can throw every route in the playbook, make all the throws. He's very mobile. One of the things that I know is a point of emphasis with Sean Payton is he didn't want to take sacks. He didn't want to lose yards. [Nix] was one of the least-sacked quarterbacks in the NFL this year. He understands timing and rhythm. He has great anticipation, getting the ball out on time. He understands his protection. I think as a rookie, he had one of the best rookie seasons in a long time for any quarterback."

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Nov 10, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) talks with head coach Sean Payton against the Kansas City Chiefs prior to a game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Indeed, Nix had a tool kit of traits — both tangible and intangible — that set him apart from most of his fellow rookies. Washington's Jayden Daniels turned in a sensational first-year campaign as well, leading his team to the NFC Championship Game and winning the ORoY award. Nix was an ORoY finalist, which none of his pre-draft detractors even remotely saw coming.

McCaffrey sees great maturity in Nix and a tremendous skill set. That skill set, Broncos fans will recall, was heavily criticized and dismissed during the runup to the 2024 draft. Nix, Payton, and the Broncos got the last laugh, though.

"He had a maturity beyond his years, but he also has a really high level of skill," McCaffrey said of Nix. "He throws a great football. He throws a tight spiral. He gets rid of the ball on time. He puts it in a place where you can catch it and run through your catch and make plays. And it was his rookie year."

Although even the most hardcore Broncos fans haven't overreacted to the team defeating the Kansas City Chiefs' backups in the season finale to clinch a playoff berth, McCaffrey ascribes much meaning to the victory.

"For a rookie year, to lead your team to the playoffs? And at the end of the year—I know the Kansas City Chiefs didn't play all their starters—but beating the Chiefs, a team that's been in five of the last six Super Bowls, and getting into the playoffs, to me, that was a major milestone," McCaffrey said. "It gives our team hope."

That's to say nothing of Nix's comportment in the hostile environs of Arrowhead Stadium in Week 10. He had a very productive first half against Kansas City's championship-caliber defense and drove the Broncos down in the four-minute offense, down by two points, to put the team in position for a game-winning walk-off field goal attempt.

That kick was inexplicably blocked. Payton described the blocking snafu that led to the blocked kick as "devastating," but coming out of that game, he believed that anyone who watched it knew that Nix was for real. Even Patrick Mahomes admitted as much post-game.

Suffice it to say, with Nix in the fold, Payton's Broncos are confident that they can not only compete with Kansas City in the AFC West but even edge past their division rival as time marches on. Payton is 2-2 vs. the Chiefs since arriving in Denver, after the previous collection of Broncos head-coaching regimes built up a 16-game losing streak to Kansas City dating back to 2015.

Moving forward, McCaffrey emphasized three items on the Broncos' offseason to-do list to sustain the momentum and build on it with Nix.

"The average team turns over 60% of the roster in a season. There's going to have to be other guys that we bring in. We're going to have to have a good draft. We're going to have to add pieces around him," McCaffrey said. "They want to make sure they have a solid tight end group. They want to make sure they have a solid running back group. The defense played really well this year. You've got to retain your free agents, so, look, you're never done roster building. But I think if you don't have the coach and quarterback in place, you're fighting an uphill battle, so I'm very happy that the Broncos have found a way to get the right guys in those two positions." 

Add to the tight end and running back group, and do what you can to retain your key free agents, especially on defense. Check, check, and check.

With the $35 million or so in cap space and a full complement of draft picks, those keys are attainable for Denver this offseason. McCaffrey is high on the Broncos' wide receiver group, but he'd also like to see an addition there to help "on the outside."

The Broncos have secured the two most elusive puzzle pieces in Payton and Nix. The team might not be fighting that "uphill battle" anymore, but it's not exactly all downhill from here.

But it could be... if the Broncos are successful in building the nest around Nix during this pivotal offseason.

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