England, Colo. – As Bo Nick took the stage following the Broncos’ training camp practice on Aug. 1, the team looked to the recently abandoned, former practice facility, a building soon to be demolished. Behind him sits a new $175 million that he and the other 400 members of the organization settled on days ago.
The drastic change at the position reflected the “fantastic” mentality that Knicks said was entering his third season as Denver’s quarterback — to put it simply.
“I’m trying not to screw up the 1st year team,” Nick said. “It feels like my 3rd year trying to make plays for the team. It’s a different feeling. It’s just a confidence level.”
Bo Nick … the mountain lion?
Nick Kosmider
His confidence was built on his results as an NFL quarterback, a job the Knicks won after Denver selected him with the 12th pick in the 2024 draft in his first training camp. He led the Broncos to the playoffs twice, in his first appearance ending the franchise’s eight-year streak without a postseason. Last season, he helped the Broncos take the AFC West away from the Kansas City Chiefs for the first time in a decade. He outlasted Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills to win an overtime playoff game.
Knicks has scored more touchdowns than any player in the draft, and no quarterback has caught more touchdowns than his 24 catches for the Broncos in 2024 and 2025.
However, Nix could be like a soft cumulus cloud passing through the sky on a summer’s day. A member of the football-eating public can see one type of quarterback. Another can look at the clouds and see a different traveler completely. The Knicks did not make the top 10 in preseason quarterback picks. Critics point to a history of ankle injuries, often since Knicks started 63 of a possible 64 games over the past four seasons since his time at Oregon.
The sports talk show circuit has been so inundated with narratives about the Knicks this season that their head coach was forced to jump on social media to fire veteran Sean Payton. He found it particularly difficult..
“It’s the best thing about our sport,” Payton said. “Anywhere, you can argue the top 10 and (in all of these discussions), generally, time will give you those answers. We like what we’re seeing (from the Knicks). Again, they’re measured by wins and they’re measured by certain things. Ultimately, that’s how history is written about anybody, especially quarterbacks.”
Knicks has it all on the precipice of the biggest season of his football career, which begins Monday night in the Broncos’ Week 1 opener in Kansas City. He will be eligible for a huge contract extension as soon as next season. With 13 players currently making more than $50 million a year at the position, including two more than $60 million, it’s not unusual for Knicks to plan a new long-term deal, which would make him the franchise’s first $300 million man, something he and the Broncos believe he has the ability to produce. It’s a decision that will affect how Denver goes about building a Super Bowl contender for years to come.
The way the backup quarterback handles that pressure is in a way he’s dominated, leading the NFL-high 10 game-winning drives the past two seasons: by naming.
“Competitionally, the way we are as players, you better treat every year like it’s a year,” Nick said. “You have to go out there and show the team that you value what they put in for you and what they build around you. You can never give up and think, ‘I’ve done it, I’ve gotten to where I want to be.’ Honestly, I never feel that way.”
“There’s always next season. There’s always next championship. I think every year feels like a contract year for every player, because it has to be.”
When Davis Webb took over as the Broncos’ offensive coordinator in February, he quickly built a project designed to analyze the Knicks’ first two seasons as Denver’s starting quarterback. Every decision. Every throw. The goal was to tweak the scheme to highlight the Knicks’ strengths and find areas where the quarterback and offense could still grow. The process helped the Broncos move to Jaylen Waddle in the offseason, a dynamic target who already has the ability to bend the geometry of the defense in a way that suits the quarterback.
As the Knicks recovered from an ankle injury that forced him to miss January’s AFC Championship Game, he was dismantling his own game in a similar fashion.
“One thing you see from him is trusting his throws — a lot,” he said as he took refuge at the team’s quiet, air-conditioned home field after practice camp last month. I’m going to make sure.’ He’s believing in himself, and it’s good to see that he can always get the ball. It doesn’t matter how you feel under cover; He is torn in there.
“Now he’s coming in here, and it’s not like, ‘Oh, I’m afraid to mess up.’ This camp is the best training camp, for sure.
Knicks showed his aggressiveness in training camp. who He was willing to attack: that is, All-Pro corner Pat Surtain II. The Knicks rarely saw Surtain’s way, let alone throw the ball to him as a starter and quarterback. Even in his second training camp, the Knicks may be able to count on one side when attacking a superstar defense.
That changed in August, when the Knicks challenged the team’s best player almost every day. Nix reached a significant milestone when he hit Waddle on a deep touchdown pass after getting a step on Surtain, but the quarterback learned a lot from being on the wrong end of that battle.
“The first couple of years, if (Surte) went over there, I worked a lot on the other side of the field, but I don’t think he was (any) diligent,” Nix said. “Now that I’m feeling a little more confident, I don’t want to throw him his own way and end up on the stat sheet just to help him out every once in a while.
It does a great job, and once we finish it, we feel good about the morale of the offense. It shows us that we are very good and that we can attack the best player in football on defense.
It’s not just faith in what Knicks believes his arm can do. It also shows how he deals with what he sees on the other side of the line. Knicks has been a “sneaky” job during camp practices because he’s been so mobile and elusive, All-Pro defensive end Zach Allen said recently. But the work is difficult in this camp to exploit the new fields of the Knicks.
“Certainly right now, the way he reads defenses, he’s second to none. “It’s really amazing how elite he is. The biggest thing everyone is talking about is how many sacks he takes. It is indeed a struggle. His offensive line is very good, but he gets the ball out quickly. Great to see them comfortable in their third year.
Bo Nix will be eligible for a contract extension after this season. (Ron Chenoy/Imag Images)
Peyton bristles at the start of training camp when asked about the Knicks’ “3-year leap” concept. In the year In 2025, he pointed to the quarterback’s winning streak, including a franchise-record 14 wins. Then the coach corrected the question.
“Do I think he’s going to continue to improve? Yes,” Payton said. “I think there’s some areas for us offensively, for the quarterback — a consistent run game all year long. There’s some things we can do to help him.
After the Broncos re-signed a healthy JK Dobbins and drafted Jonas Coleman, they should have a solid Peyton-era backfield. Payton made a change at receivers coach after Denver intercepted the second-most passes in the NFL last season (37 according to TruMedia) by acquiring Ronald Curry from Buffalo. Payton has turned over the play-calling duties to Webb, who knows the Knicks well after spending the past two seasons as the quarterbacks coach. And there’s Waddle, who “I think we lost that explosive element for two years,” Nick said earlier this season.
All of which add to the Knicks’ high self-esteem is the theme of this season’s young quarterback.
“The mindset is that he’s ready to show the world what he’s got. … He’s ready to make a statement,” Certain said of the quarterback.
