Broncos HC Sean Payton Slams Bo Nix ‘Reach’ Critics.

If you’re one of the ever-growing legion of Bo Nix skeptics who have been browsing… Denver Broncos12th overall pick in the draft, Sean Payton has news for you. He’s empathetic because he understands that you’ve probably been misled by what he calls the “NFL train,” but he’s also quite cheeky, as is his wont.

“When I hear people say this is a guy he could have gotten in the second or third round, I know they don’t know what they’re talking about,” Payton told his ex SPORTS FOX colleague Jay Glazer during an informative, over-hour-long conversation on the website Indestructible podcast. “But all of these things can move scouts and coaches, their evaluations and their opinions, so trust what you see. When you’re trying to judge someone, tune out the white noise.”

Payton talks about the proliferation of NFL draft media, fake drafts and the cacophony of conversations and opinions spread on social media. All it takes is one credible talking head to give an opinion, and soon the echo chamber phenomenon kicks in and the whole pre-draft trope takes shape in a way that could actually impact a prospect’s draft, because not all teams are as immune to the “NFL train” as like Payton and the Broncos, and some fall victim to the noise.

There are many great project analysts out there, and several of them work here Meeting at Mile Highlike Erick Trickel and Nick Kendell, but when it comes to draft “draftmen” or “experts,” Payton doesn’t quite understand why anyone shares their opinions.

“Honestly, in my humble opinion, I don’t know how many great evaluators there are,” Payton said of the media landscape project. “It’s a tough position to evaluate early on, and I think once we knew Bo was the guy we were going to draft, we knew we couldn’t be the only team seeing what we were seeing. no, I’ll only say that for the teams behind us.

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Glazer backs up Payton’s claim that Nix was his boyfriend with a little anecdote about the Broncos’ head coach calling him a “crazy plan to let everyone know Bo Nix is ​​(Payton’s) boyfriend.” Looks like Glazer talked Payton out of his idea, which had something to do with Nix showing up at the house. Maybe it was about being there when choosing? I’m not sure. But that would certainly solidify any of Payton’s claims that Nix has always been his guy.

Glazer also played up Payton’s plan to allegedly leak a report about the Broncos’ interest in Michigan’s JJ McCarthy to help push Nix down to 12th in the standings. Go and listen to this conversation. It’s like two old brothers chopping it up for an hour or so, often forgetting that the cameras and microphones are on.

The further into the offseason training program we get, the more circumstantial evidence emerges to support Payton’s claim that Nix was his target. Behind the Broncos, there were plenty of teams ready to take Nix off the roster if Payton balked, as Las Vegas Invaders at number 13 i Los Angeles Rams at number 19.

Payton didn’t care who these teams were shooting at. The only thing he cares about is having his man. And so far, the proof was in the pudding.

Payton still seems to mock (good-naturedly) the tropes surrounding Nix pre-draft. They ran the gamut from Nix being a system quarterback, to Auburn’s burnout/failure, to the NFL’s lack of arm strength. Payton looked beyond these superficial criticisms, and the Broncos made sure to extract data to support the head coach’s assessment of Nix, which also included a private training session from which the head coach walked away with something like, “That was something else,” a stunned state.

“Much has been written about his painting. I’ve heard it a million times,” Payton said. “He led college football in fastest throws.” We understand all this. When we analytically remove all of the rushes from each quarterback, he’s still first in class, first in class, first in class in completions, touchdowns, interceptions – all of that. Sacks… guy gets rid of the ball. There are so many things we saw on the video. And then we saw the talents in attack. We see it now.

Indeed, Nix’s early gains have been nothing short of exciting. A good way to put it? As advertised.

Nix received nothing but the highest praise from Payton. It’s one thing for the coach who drafted a quarterback to praise him, even at the start of a three-way open competition with two other veterans, but when a skeptical and quarterback-terrified local Denver media can’t help but get excited based on what Nix he showed in Broncos open press practices that it’s taking on a different face.

When it comes to Nix’s pre-draft stock, another common trope was the Drew Brees comparison, which, by default, immediately linked him to Payton and the Broncos. Watch Nix’s tape at Oregon and the similarities he shares with Brees quickly become obvious, even if he’s a bit bigger, stronger and faster than the future Hall-of-Famer.

Payton seemed offended that Nix received such a comparison, as it obviously exposed the Broncos’ likely interest in him. While both quarterbacks have some things in common, Payton says he wasn’t exactly looking to draft another Brees.

“Look, that’s not necessarily what I’m looking for,” Payton said of finding a Brees clone. “I heard this narrative and it was used a lot. “But I think we’re all looking for athletic guys who are 6-foot-10, 220 pounds… this guy is the most accurate passer in the history of college football.”

During his conversation with Glazer, Payton tried to defend his new quarterback at every opportunity. The atmosphere in Denver is turbulent, making this open competition at the quarterback position seem quite transparent, as if Payton was simply going through the motions to please the locker room.

“At the end of the day, you have to look at the tape,” Payton said, “and if you studied the tape, this guy played 61 games in his college career. He is 5’10” and 220 pounds. The only thing I could cover was what we saw on tape and now what we’re seeing in practice during these OTAs. We still have two weeks left, so all of a sudden there’s this nice little bit of certainty: all the things you’ve been predicting and seeing are starting to come true.”

Can you feel dizziness? Because Nix is ​​Payton’s guy. An experienced trainer talks as if he were the cat that caught the canary. As if he knew something that no one else did. Only time will tell if Payton was right and if all of Nix’s critics were wrong.

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