When the Denver Broncos spent the 12th overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft on Bo Nix, many folks scoffed at the choice.
Don't count his veteran left tackle among those skeptics. Garett Bolles has spent a season protecting Nix, witnessed the results and can't wait to see what's next for the Broncos and their quarterback.
"Bo's a tremendous football player," Bolles said during a Wednesday appearance on NFL Network's The Insiders, which will air at 7 p.m. ET. "I'm so grateful I get to protect him and being his blindside protector, giving him all the time in the world. He's a freak of nature. You look at the numbers that he put up last year, between him and [Jayden] Daniels, those were the two young quarterbacks in the league that's gonna be very successful, and I have one of them behind me. His demeanor, his composure, his work ethic, just always wanting to get better, his arm talent and just the way he sees it, he has swag, man, he really does."
In a 2024 draft class that included plenty of potential at the position, Nix was seen as somewhat of a leftover option. Yet Sean Payton's Broncos saw value in the five years Nix spent as a starter in college and a skillset that could marry well with Payton's offensive approach.
Nine months later, the Broncos looked like the experts in the room. Nix threw for 3,775 yards, 29 touchdowns (and 12 interceptions), posted a passer rating of 93.3 and led Denver to its first playoff appearance in nearly a decade. He made a push for Offensive Rookie of the Year and delivered a season's worth of performances that commanded the respect he wasn't afforded when entering the NFL.
Perhaps most importantly, Nix gave Broncos fans hope after years of cycling through numerous quarterbacks and failing to find a trustworthy candidate. He accomplished this in part because Payton empowered Nix to rely on his strengths -- mobility, improvisation and plenty of experience -- moving him out of the pocket in order to allow Nix to make plays on the perimeter and out of structure.
With half of a decade worth of starts in college at two different stops (Auburn and Oregon), Nix arrived in Denver with an unusual amount of seasoning. That undoubtedly aided him in his rookie season pursuits.
"You would think a rookie like that would come in and it would be hard for him to adjust to the NFL life," Bolles said. "I think it just pays dividends to all the snaps that he had in college and the coaching staffs that he had there with Auburn and Oregon, and then coming to Denver and embracing his role and being the leader that he is, to lead our team down the field to score points, it spoke to us. We scored a lot of points last year and we're ready to build off of what we did and continue to get better each and every day."
It's only been one season, but Nix's strong debut has the Broncos feeling more optimistic about their chances entering a new season than they have since the retirement of Peyton Manning. Bolles' comments only reinforce this sentiment.
