Peyton Manning describes his expectations for Bo Nix, rookie NFL QBs
NFL legend Peyton Manning still follows the Broncos closely after leading Denver to a Super Bowl during his playing days. Manning is a big fan of Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix, who was selected in the first round of this year’s NFL Draft.
Manning joined The Pat McAfee Show on Friday and shared what he expects from Bo Nix this season.
“Yea, I don’t know if you saw yesterday, but you know, Bo Nix was voted a captain, which I think a lot of fans don’t realize this, that captains are, that’s a player vote,” Peyton Manning said. “That’s not like the head coach rigging the voting and making somebody a captain.
“The players voted Bo Nix a captain, which I think just tells you a lot that look, he’s 24 years old, he’s married. He started over 60 games in college. That’ll never happen again. So there’s just a level of maturity there that you don’t see in most rookies.”
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Nix played college football at both Auburn and Oregon, excelling during his final year with the Ducks, while being named a Heisman finalist.
Peyton Manning still expects him to experience some typical rookie struggles, but overall Manning believes Nix will be successful.
“He’ll have rookie struggles because the game is that hard. But Sean Payton is smart enough to know you’ve gotta help with a good run game,” Manning said. “You’ve gotta get the ball out of his hands. You’ve gotta play good defense. So I’m excited to watch Bo. Not an easy start, going to Seattle, one of the louder places to play.”
Peyton Manning hopes rookie interceptions record is broken
Peyton Manning is a big believer in this rookie quarterback class, but he also wants to see someone in the group throw a lot of interceptions this season.
Manning currently holds the record for most interceptions by a rookie with 28. While he holds a lot of NFL records, the rookie interceptions one is one he wouldn’t mind losing.
“You know, rookie quarterbacks, it’s always a little struggle with me. I want to get that interception record that I hold broken. I don’t want Bo Nix to break it,” Manning said. “But you know, if the quarterback in Washington or Chicago wants to break it, I’m still pulling for them. I’m a quarterback fan, but I’ve gotta get that one off my resume. And you’d think with 17 games somebody would break it.”
Manning added that he has a message to NFL coaches in regards to what to do if their first-year quarterback struggles.
“Here’s my message to coaches, though. Look, I’m a big [Jayden] Daniels fan. I like [Caleb] Williams. I like Drake Maye. [JJ] McCarthy’s going to be a good player. So is [Michael] Penix. But these guys that are starting this year, right – Bo, Daniels and Williams. If they struggle early, leave him in there,” Manning said. “Don’t take him out. Because that’s the only way you’re going to get to 28 interceptions. … Plus that’s how you learn. Leave him in there. Learn how not to throw. … But if you take him out, you don’t learn as much.”