From the start, Sean Payton knew what Bo Nix was capable of. “He’s super instinctive; he’s played a lot of football. He’s smart, tough, and a quick decision-maker,” Payton said after drafting him. Nix held his own as a rookie—kept his head down, stayed focused, and showed poise well beyond his years. And as the 2025 season kicks off in Mile High, there’s no sign of him slowing down. But here’s the kicker: while Bo’s been grinding through training camp, Payton has started flipping the switch—publicly.

The Broncos HC isn’t just tossing around praise anymore—he’s calling for wins. “I laid out some things that are forthcoming,” Payton revealed after a recent practice. He quipped, “On a division-seeding standpoint, it begins more… but you can’t be fearful of discussing the endgame.” Talk about playoff seeding? Super Bowl chatter? That wasn’t the script in Year 1. But now? In Year 3, it’s the new normal in Broncos Country.

According to NFL vet Bennie Fowler, DC Vance Joseph was all-in on the rookie: “We got a real special guy in Bo.” But then Fowler changed the conversation. “And what Evan Engram does, he’s like, how do you cover that guy? Yo, who do you put on him?” Fowler’s point is clear—Engram is a matchup nightmare. That’s great for Nix, right? Not quite.

Here’s the twist—Payton may have unintentionally stirred up a storm for Nix. “Sean’s got Evan a couple of yards away from the tackle… he’s got him inside on the bunch… on the outside of the bunch,” Fowler added. But then came the halt. “Wait, Sean got mad about the shift in the motion yesterday and practice and he stopped it. You need that shift, you need that motion, that tells Bo if it’s mad or own.” That confusion? It’s not what you want for a developing QB.

Besides, Payton’s vision for Engram stretches far. He wants him to be used as a ‘Joker.’ Engram’s on board. “I like to call myself a cleaner,” he said. “A guy that’s going to come in every single day and do what he’s asked at the highest level possible.” After a 114-catch, 963-yard season in 2023, it’s clear the Pro Bowler’s not just here to block.

Even so, the pressure’s mounting. Sure, Engram and Nix are bonding—they even had lunch during Engram’s visit. But the expectations are sky-high now. And for Bo Nix, there is another fear: sophomore slump.

Sean Payton & the Broncos brush off Bo Nix slump chatter

The whole sophomore slump narrative doesn’t seem to shake the Mile High sideline one bit. Bo Nix might be heading into Year 2, but head coach Sean Payton isn’t buying into the doom talk. The rookie wall that trips up young quarterbacks? Payton thinks it’s all exaggerated. And honestly, it’s hard to argue.

“I’m trying to think of the MTV one-hit wonders, and there’s not a lot of them that come to mind,” Payton said on Wednesday. “It’s a term we use, but I can’t think of examples that match that term of rookie quarterbacks that excelled and then all of a sudden it’s, ‘What happened in their second year?’” Still, it’s not like the critics are silent.

Opposing defensive coordinators now have film on Nix. He’s no longer flying under the radar—and that changes things. He’ll face coverage he’s never seen before, and the tape won’t lie. But Payton isn’t worried. In fact, he finds the whole idea a little amusing.

“I hear that a lot. Look, we’re all watching the film throughout the year, so there’s not this one offseason where there’s a group of defensive coaches sitting in a room for two weeks looking at Bo Nix film,” he said. “I mean the study and looking at the system, the players in the system—I’ve heard that, and I kind of cringe when I hear it.” Moreover, Payton and Nix aren’t winging it.

They’re crafting something real in Broncos Country—tailoring play calls, building trust, and adding firepower around Nix. “It’ll be exciting to kind of see what we have. That evolves each year, and we will continue to this year,” Payton noted. So while the NFL waits for a sophomore stumble, Denver’s betting on a second-year surge.