Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix has found himself in an interesting spot to start his career.
He’s had some success in the win column, the Broncos have won two in a row to improve to 2-2 and are in the thick of a division race. However, he’s also at the bottom of some of the NFL’s statistical categories and metrics after four games. Nix’s head coach still believes in his rookie though.
“You’re still looking for the perfect picture, the perfect game,” Payton said Wednesday, per ESPN. “I know this Shangri-la doesn’t exist, but the execution, the details still have to get better with younger players.”
Payton thinks a lot of Nix’s struggles are on the offensive unit as a whole, rather than just the young quarterback.
“I’ve said this before, if everyone else can paint the right picture,” Payton said, “then you truly get to evaluate and watch a really good quarterback.”
The veteran coach also knows that weather can have a serious impact on performance.
“I think it was a lot to do with weather and it impacted both quarterbacks,” Payton said. “I’m not making an excuse, it was difficult. … It slowly cleared up a little bit [in the second half], and I think both teams were able to get into things a little more that they wanted to do.”
Nix still has his coach’s vote of confidence, but he’ll need to pick up his production soon. Things can change fast in the NFL.
