Chiefs DT Chris Jones' comparison for Broncos QB Bo Nix shows Sean Payton did what John Elway couldn't

Ever since Peyton Manning rode off into the sunset, retiring following the 2015-16 NFL season with his second career Super Bowl win, the Denver Broncos have had a quarterback problem. They tried to to solve it, running through a carousel of attempted solutions before the team selected Bo Nix 12th-overall in this year's NFL Draft. […]

Jon Helmkamp
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Bo Nix
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Ever since Peyton Manning rode off into the sunset, retiring following the 2015-16 NFL season with his second career Super Bowl win, the Denver Broncos have had a quarterback problem. They tried to to solve it, running through a carousel of attempted solutions before the team selected Bo Nix 12th-overall in this year's NFL Draft. So far, it looks like they may have struck gold. 

The quarterback situation since Manning retired has been messy. Immediately following his retirement, the Broncos, aided by John Elway, selected Paxton Lynch in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft, but they had him back up 2015 seventh-rounder Trevor Siemian for most of the season. They ran it back with that duo the following year, turned to veteran Case Keenum in 2018, rolled with Joe Flacco and 2019 second-rounder Drew Lock the next year, gave Lock the keys in 2020, benched him for Teddy Bridgewater in 2021, traded Lock in a package for Russell Wilson in 2022, ended that experiment after last season, and finally landed on Nix this spring.

Tired yet? I'm tired just writing it. 

Things are finally looking different in Denver, though. The Broncos are 5-4, with Nix showing tons of promise. The pairing of he and Sean Payton is looking like a terrific match. Sure, Nix has plenty to work on, but he has shown ability to deliver the ball from the pocket, extend plays, and has flashes of clutch in his game. He's been particularly efficient on third and fourth down in the second half, which you love to see.

Nix has always been athletic, something that doesn't get talked about enough. In his time at Oregon, he was a prolific scrambler and showed plenty of ability on designed runs.

That athleticism has the attention of one of the best players in the league, who has a lofty comparison for Nix's play style.

"It's similar to Josh Allen," Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones said when asked about Nix's ability to run. "I don't think he has like, the big play moments of Josh Allen, but he's very comparable in a lot of things he does and the scheme they're running with him, whether it's getting him in the open field, keeping the ball in his hands on certain downs and distance, giving him the ability to play with instinct. So, I think it's, for us to prepare, making sure we're able to keep him in the pocket and then get after him."

Jones is very familiar with Allen's game, the longtime Chief having played against him seven times, three of which coming in high-pressure playoff games. 

As the Broncos continue to develop and build around Nix, they should be excited to hear any comparisons about their young quarterback to one of the top players in the game. That comparison coming from one of the best players from a division rival team makes it that much better. 

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