Sean Payton Addresses the Big Disconnect Between Bo Nix and His Critics

Opinions are cheap around the NFL media landscape — everybody's got one.

Pundits are entitled to their opinions, but that doesn't make them right. One of the most polarizing names around the NFL is Bo Nix.

Nix has led the Denver Broncos' rapid turnaround from being a sub-.500 doormat in the AFC West for the better part of a decade to winning the division and coming a stone's throw away from making the Super Bowl in Year 2. If Nix doesn't suffer that broken ankle on the third-to-last play of the Broncos' 33-30 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round, the AFC representative in Super Bowl LX would likely have been different.

That's water under the bridge, as frustrating as that week in January was. Amid the Broncos' renaissance, Nix has done more than stack wins in the standings at a record rate.

He has produced at a historically high statistical rate, too; he's the only quarterback in NFL history to win 20-plus games while passing for 7,500-plus yards and 50-plus touchdowns in his first two seasons.

And yet, Nix can get no respect from the national press. He is constantly overlooked in the quarterback conversation and dismissed by lazy analysts who live and die by the low-hanging fruit.

Broncos head coach Sean Payton has seemingly had enough of the Nix disrespect. A week ago, Payton took to social media to slam a First Things First take made by former NFL offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz, who used some tired and erroneous tropes to defend his prediction that Nix would take a step backward in Year 3.

"Always easy to tell who works at it and who doesn't," Payton commented beneath the First Things First video clip on X.

On Tuesday, former NFL lineman Willie Colon appeared on Good Morning Football, and like Schwartz, he espoused a cringe-worthy Nix take.

"Bo Nix helps the Broncos win games, but they don't win games because of Bo Nix," Colon said.

I won't even dignify Colon's comment with a rebuttal.

At the podium on Wednesday, Payton was asked what media folks like Schwartz are missing when it comes to evaluating Nix.

“Well, it’s hard for me to answer that. There are two things I think can happen," Payton said. "I think you can be predetermined based on how you saw them coming out and slow to move off of maybe your draft opinion, which is very normal. Then, oftentimes you’re not exposed to certain players based on television."

Bitter Clingers

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) celebrates after winning an AFC Divisional Round playoff game against the Buffalo Bills. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Payton's first explanation applies accurately to Nix, whom many draftniks and analysts had ranked as a Day-2 quarterback. At the time, Payton and the Broncos received no small amount of media blowback for "reaching" on Nix by drafting him at No. 12 overall in the first round.

Payton and Nix have gotten the last laugh, as the young quarterback has delivered 25 wins, counting playoffs, and two postseason berths. Many of those analysts who criticized the Broncos around the 2024 draft have stuck doggedly to their opinions that Nix was not worthy of a first-round pick.

They think that by bitterly clinging to their original opinions, and even doubling down at times, they protect themselves from the perception of being wrong. The reality is, though, they're cutting off their nose to spite their face.

I've been covering the NFL and the Broncos for more than a decade. I don't have it all figured out, but as someone who makes a living analyzing and reporting on the game, I know that I'm going to have opinions that will be shown to be wrong in the fullness of time — known colloquially as 'freezing-cold takes.'

I've found that the best policy is to admit when I'm wrong, own up to it publicly, whether that's in written form, on a podcast, or on social media, and extract whatever lesson there is to hopefully be better at my job in the future. Not everyone shares my philosophy on this topic, though, and they're easy to spot among the Nix draft truthers who simply can't admit that they were wrong about him.

No Excuse

Payton's second point is that not everyone can watch every NFL game because of television territories and market limitations. However, if you're a national analyst and the only thing you have to base your opinion on a given player, coach, or team is what you've seen while watching the Red Zone channel, suffice it to say, you're going to miss a lot. And you'll have no excuse.

Time heals all wounds, but it also exposes the truth in living color for all to see. And two seasons since the Broncos drafted Nix, he has done nothing but win games for his team and produce statistically, fully validating his draft pedigree as a top-15 pick in Round 1.

"It’s the one cool thing about our sport, though; you could argue at any position a Top 10 and all of those discussions," Payton said. "Generally, time will give you those answers."

What Matters Most

At some point, it would be good to see Nix get the recognition he deserves in the press. But the Pro Bowl selections and All-Pro nods will come as he continues to win and lead the Broncos to the playoffs. That is, if the best predictor of future outcomes is past outcomes.

What matters most, though, is how the Broncos view Nix.

"We love what we’re seeing," Payton said of Nix. "Again, they’re measured by wins, and they’re measured by certain things. Ultimately, that’s how history will be written about any of them, the quarterbacks specifically.”

The Takeaway

It's been said of late that Nix "needs better PR." In truth, what he requires are people in the national press to a.) have integrity and b.) watch the tape, as Payton himself has said.

Nix will ultimately be judged by his wins and losses, which is part of what makes this media disconnect so mystifying. All he can do is keep his nose to the grindstone and work to continue delivering what he already has for the Broncos: wins, division crowns, No. 1 playoff seeds, and postseason triumph.

We're only two years into the Nix era, and he's already accomplished so much. Imagine what the future holds for him as he continues to mature under the experienced wing of Payton and rising offensive minds like new Broncos offensive coordinator Davis Webb.

Nix has only scratched the surface of what he's capable of in the NFL. That should terrify his rivals, and bring increasingly more doubters and critics to the Nix campfire, if they're brave enough to be truthful.

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