Before receiving the Mizel Institute’s 2024 Enrichment Award last week, Peyton Manning spoke with several local media members about the Denver Broncos’ quarterback situation.
When asked specifically about rookie quarterback Bo Nix, Manning said he was “super happy” for the quarterback to land in Denver.
“[Nix] actually won the National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Award this year, which I won when I was in college,” Manning said, via the team’s official website. “So I was there at the banquet and got a picture with Bo. I remember just talking to Bo when he was thinking about transferring [from Auburn to Oregon]. So we’ve kind of stayed in touch. I’m super happy for him to be here. I think it’s a great fit for him, and I can tell how excited Sean [Payton] is to have Bo here.”
Nix also volunteered as a counselor at the Manning Passing Academy while in college. He is now set to join a Payton offense that Manning described as “extremely quarterback-friendly.”
“I never played in it, but played against it and watched it and know the success that Drew Brees had and Tony Romo had,” Manning said of Payton’s offense. “It’s the kind of system that I’d like to play in. It’s very quarterback-friendly.”
Nix will compete with Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson for Denver’s starting quarterback job this summer. Manning isn’t picking favorites, but he did hint that playing sooner rather than later would be good for Nix’s development.
“Look, I think experience is still your best teacher,” Manning said. “There’s lots of philosophies and debates on whether you sit a rookie or you play him right away. … There’s no question; I think any quarterback would tell you, you just learn more things than you do sitting on the sideline. Any quarterback will tell you that. So [we’ll see] when that happens for Bo and these quarterbacks — obviously Sean will make that decision — but I do think experience is the best teacher.
“It’s a marathon, not a sprint. I went 3-13 my rookie year and didn’t play very well. We went 13-3 the next year. There’s no way that would have happened had I not played and kind of gone through those struggles and thrown those interceptions and figured out ‘Hey, OK, I can’t do that anymore. Hey, these guys are faster.’ You just sort of file it all away. Eli [Manning] played, I think, six games his rookie year, and he said what he learned in the six that he played was night and day to the 10 that he sat. We’ll see how it all shakes out.”
He does not have an official title with the Broncos, but Manning frequently visits the team’s facility and he has remained closely connected to the club. GM George Paton and coach Sean Payton have described Manning as a “great resource” for the team. Playing in Payton’s QB-friendly offense with Manning as a willing mentor, Nix has the pieces in place for success in Denver.
