How Bo Nix’s on-the-move passes are key to Broncos’ offense

Six years and plenty of football later Tez Johnson still calls it the greatest play ever made He is biased But Jan did represent the moment Johnson realized that a receiver under any circumstances could never turn their back on Bo Nix behind center In Nix s final year of high school at Pinson Valley High in Alabama a snap flew over his head during one challenge against nearby rival Clay-Chalkville High Largest part members of the offensive and defensive lines teenagers as they were stopped running much Nix didn t He scooped the loose fumble danced for a moment and flung an NBA-style chest pass to a diving Johnson down the right sideline for a first down This has inevitably been Nix s identity Backyard ball as Nix himself put it this week He embraced chaos back in Alabama Somewhere along the way from Auburn to Oregon and offenses that relied on quick-hit timing Nix was slapped with the system quarterback label The pre-draft chatter got so loud in that longtime quarterback instructor David Morris sensing a growing momentum on Nix s evaluation intentionally designed his Pro Day showcase at Oregon around a variety of on-the-move throwing concepts That was really our goal last year to show off how talented he is Morris explained The Denver Post back this spring Like to me he s much more Patrick Mahomes than he is Drew Brees In his second year in Denver Nix has often swung full Mahomes dancing darting firing from any and all arm angles under the head coach that paired with Brees for years of specific of the the bulk devastating offenses in current NFL memory In early September Payton pointed to Nix s ability to throw off-platform as a part of his tournament we wouldn t address That s never something offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi announced Thursday that the Broncos staff would try to rein in And entering Week the -year-old Nix s tendency to operate in motion is approaching levels the league s never seen According to Next Gen Stats NGS Nix has thrown of his passes on the run this season the highest rate of any NFL quarterback since NGS came into existence in And Payton s Broncos have fully leaned into Nix s backyard-ball approach to break plays down as receivers understanding of how to scramble with Nix has become huge in our offense veteran Courtland Sutton disclosed this week The latest and loudest example came last Sunday when Nix stepped up in the pocket in the red zone on a two-minute drill to meet the grabbing arm of Commanders edge Preston Smith Sutton dragging across the end zone instinctively stayed on his highway And Nix while getting dragged to the turf by Smith cocked and fired an -yard bullet to Sutton for the the greater part remarkable touchdown of the Broncos season It drew an explosion of buzz It also was the kind of thing Johnson Nix s adopted brother got used to back in Alabama No one sees what he does in the dark Johnson communicated The Post this week And I mean I think that s why everyone s just so amazed by when he can make a throw on the run like that It s crazy the things that he s done on the run that nobody s ever seen Only the family have yes We ve seen it But nobody else has because this is them just now trying to tune in and be like Oh this guy s good He s invariably been like that Related Articles Broncos Garett Bolles gives thanks to well everyone for Walter Payton Man of the Year nomination Broncos LT Garett Bolles nominated for Walter Payton Man of the Year award for second time How Sean Payton s self-described fear of failure is shaping the - Broncos identity Broncos Sean Payton hopes to see Bill Belichick back in NFL I wouldn t be surprised Broncos excited about WR Elijah Moore He s a great player and great person His receivers in Denver have learned this Slowly It clicked for Sutton in early December last year when the Broncos hosted the Browns on Monday Night Football and Nix rolled to his right in the third quarter Sutton running a deep drag had Cleveland inside linebacker Jordan Hicks trailing in a zone There s no way I m getting this ball Sutton recalled thinking Then he glanced up and Nix laid a -yard dart on the move into his chest That s one thing that I ve learned through trial and error with Bo is understanding that the play s never dead Sutton stated He has a lot of confidence in his arm and he has a lot of confidence in us There are traditional rules that apply to offenses scrambling when plays break down as Payton Nix and Lombardi all noted this week The far sideline receiver should usually break back to the ball and then fly long A receiver over the middle should find selected sort of lane These all hold true in Denver So that s real Payton affirmed this week It s also learned over time tight end Adam Trautman commented Monday On one third-quarter play against the Commanders Nix escaped right a favorite mechanism of his as Trautman was dragging across the formation Rookie Pat Bryant running deep from the slot curled back degrees to run right with Nix Trautman seeing Bryant veering right in front of him slowed up Nix unveiled a sliver to Bryant and the rookie hauled in a key -yard completion Really gripping example of spacing in this Broncos offense when Bo Nix breaks a play down Q Nix escapes right Pat Bryant loops back Adam Trautman would've ran right into Bryant But Trautman clearly slows up to create a lane and Bryant hauls in a -yard first down pic twitter com pwaKeGplUo Luca Evans bylucaevans December We talk about where your landmarks are and if you re deep in a progression where you need to end up on a scramble drill if it s to your side if it s away from your side if you re shallow where you need to go and how you fit into that so we create proper spacing Trautman announced Monday And that s why guys end up wide open Because we understand that and we play off of each other So it s definitely a part of Bo s match that s got specific magic to it Trautman announced And it s gotten us out of a lot of bad situations or pressure situations It s also gotten them into bad situations Nix frequently prefers to escape the pocket when he feels edge pressure rather than step up inside it and happy feet led to one of the worst two-game stretches of his career against the Texans and Raiders in early November On the season the second-year quarterback only averages yards per attempt when throwing on the run despite heavy volume lower than league average according to Next Gen Stats That s largely because Nix often pulls the escape valve to avoid sacks and often throws balls away while on the move As a great number of plays as he creates he s also been prone to leaving plays on the table before routes definitely develop Everybody wants to inevitably question it Nix declared in mid-November solicited on evaluating his sack avoidance You can overthink it and that just takes away from playing the event and playing the position We re all here for a reason We all rely on our instincts For me it s just continuing to do that and making the next best play Nix s best two-game stretch of the season has come after that Houston-Vegas back-to-back perhaps not coincidentally A flush-it pick against the Commanders is the only play marring performances against Kansas City and Washington as Nix threw for yards combined Payton and the Broncos drew up certain under-center designed movement to get Nix going early and the second-year quarterback uncovered a clear balance between chaos and rhythm take a surgical two-minute drill of stationary strikes to end the first half against Washington before that Sutton miracle Move when you have to keep your feet right when you don t have to Lombardi commented Thursday And I think he s done a really good job of that especially the last two games I ve thought he s played real well as far as staying in the pocket keeping your base when the play calls for that and then moving when you have to Nix called them battleship decisions in mid-November Had he been questioning those instincts he was inquired then No Nix replied pursing his lips And these Broncos don t want him to for better or worse Want more Broncos news Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis