Oregon HC Slams Critics of Broncos' Drafting Bo Nix: 'They're Like Weathermen'

Dan Lanning scoffs at the media draftniks' negativity on Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning greets quarterback Bo Nix before the game as the No. 6 Oregon Ducks / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA

Together at Oregon, Ducks head coach Dan Lanning and quarterback Bo Nix compiled an impressive 22-5 record. Such a winning pedigree makes NFL teams sit up and take notice, particularly when the quarterback is leading the charge.

Lanning helped steer Nix into the professional ranks with great pride, and he also had an inkling during the pre-draft process that the best fit for his prodigy might be the Denver Broncos.

"I certainly felt good, but I also felt good about some other teams that wanted Bo," Lanning told the Denver Gazette's Chris Tomasson. "I thought he would go day one. I just wasn't sure where. But I thought the Broncos had a really great shot at making it happen."

Despite Lanning's undying confidence in Nix, the Broncos' draft grades have been mostly negative, with an emphasis on the team's purported first-round 'reach.' If he hadn't been taken by Denver at No. 12 overall, the media draftniks were convinced that Nix wouldn't have heard his name called unto Round 2.

Such opinions abound in the fog of clickbait, but Lanning was fairly dismissive of the hot-take artists' grades.

"I kind of think those draft analysts are kind of like weathermen," Lanning said. "They don't have to be right... Who cares what they think? It's about the kind of career he's going to have."

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Downgrading the Nix pick based on the perception that his unique skill set was best suited to one landing spot could be described as lazy. As Lanning can certainly attest to, Nix plays the position in a much more cerebral fashion than most, which, combined with his other intangible and tangible tools, makes him a unique pro prospect in an era where strong arms and fast legs are the coveted preference.

Nix's football IQ and quick processing appealed to coach Payton, and Lanning believes that among Nix's other core strengths, it's his huge brain capacity that sets him apart.

"His intelligence," Lanning told Tomasson when asked about Nix's core strength. "I think it's really important at that top level as the game continues to speed up... His competitive spirit. His work ethic. And he's played on the big stage, so I don't think it will be too big. I'm excited to see what he does. I think Sean is wanting and willing to ask his quarterback to do as much as he is capable of doing when it comes to play operation and communication and Bo's a guy that handles that extremely well."

Vaulting as many players into the NFL as Oregon did reflects particularly well on a young and ambitious head coach like Lanning. Therefore, the 38-year-old head coach was delighted when the Broncos decided to make a natural fit work for themselves by drafting Nix's favorite receiver in the fourth round — Troy Franklin.

"The Broncos got a steal there ," Lanning said. "That's a great pick for them... He's going to run his routes hard every single rep regardless of whether the ball is thrown to him or away from him. He's going to block. He's got all the traits you want on the football field. He's a great teammate."

Payton's unrelenting mission to solve the Broncos' lingering problems under center dictated the addition of explosive weapons, and in Franklin, the veteran coach landed one with advanced levels of built-in chemistry with the new future franchise QB. Betting on such partnerships is a chance the Broncos are willing to take in order to bridge the gap back to vanquishing the still-dominant Kansas City Chiefs.

Ever since Patrick Mahomes landed in Kansas City, the Chiefs have loomed like a forbidding dark cloud over the Broncos' rapid slide into the NFL doldrums. Despite Lanning's conflicting emotions as a lifelong Chiefs fan, he's got a strong feeling that things are set to seismically change in Denver with Nix arriving. 

"I immediately had nightmare thoughts of John Elway. I'm a Chiefs fan," Lanning said. "I started to think about the negative."

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