2025 NFL Combine: Sean Payton reveals surprising tidbit on Bo Nix from 2024

The NFL Combine is where teams start to decide on who their draft picks could be in two months’ time. That’s obviously not always the case, though, including for QB Bo Nix with the Denver Broncos.

At this year’s combine in Indianapolis, Sean Payton spoke with Peter Schrager on Sunday about the team’s focus on Nix in the draft process last year. He said they had not decided on selecting him coming out of the combine, as he actually recalled him performing poorly there, but did so later on after some more individual work with him on their own.

Sean Payton tells us that Bo Nix didn't throw particularly well at the Combine last year. And at this point in 2024, he wasn't their "guy" at all. The lesson? This just the start. There's still a long way to go in the process. @gmfb @NFLonFOX @Broncos pic.twitter.com/othOUokK2z

— Peter Schrager (@PSchrags) March 2, 2025

“We didn’t at that time,” said Payton. “I would say that decision probably was finalized or we felt real strong? It wasn’t just the – he had a pro day on Friday and then, Saturday, we had a private workout. I think, that Saturday after his private workout, we felt like that was our target.”

“Yeah, this time, at this point in time, we didn’t. And he really didn’t throw well,” Payton added.

Again, that’s not unusual when it comes to prospect at the combine. Payton noted multiple factors why that isn’t always where they have their best performances ahead of the draft.

“Here’s a couple things I can recall. So, for years in our league, the footballs were never broken in. They come right out of the box. That’s a challenge for a college quarterback. I mean, they’re slippery, they’re not broken in. And then you get in here, the temperature is maybe a little cooler than you think. It’s air-conditioned. So learning all of those things, getting adjusted to that,” said Payton. “The prep that they have now is, is so much different then just twenty years ago – the understanding of what’s to be expected, how to handle the interviews, how to handle the medical part of it, how to handle these drills. I’ve seen players that have bad ball skills that are outstanding through the gauntlet and they’ve just worked on it so much.”

Nix, coming out of five years in college at Oregon and Auburn, had solid reviews coming out of the combine. His stock then continued to improve as he was eventually the sixth of six quarterbacks to go in the first dozen picks of the 2024 NFL Draft.

However, Nix was arguably one of the two or three best as rookies this season in the NFL. He completed 66.3% of his throws for 3,775 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. The passing yardage was twelfth in the league while the passing scores were fifth. Both of those were also the most among the five first-year quarterbacks from his draft class. Nix rushed for 430 yards and four more scores too while having a receiving score. All of that had him as a finalist for Offensive Rookie of the Year.

With that, Denver had their best season in nine years, in which they won Super Bowl 50 in 2015, with a record of 10-7 and making the playoffs. Nix was a big part of that as their offense was their best in a decade at 25 ppg. and 324.6 yards per game. The Broncos would then go on to lose at 31-7 in the AFC Wild Card at Buffalo.

The combine is key for evaluations of players at all positions coming into the draft in April. Still, it’s more than that with a month and a half still to decide what these teams want to do with their picks.