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Singleton had a simple message for Nix the day Payton named him starting quarterback. Basically: We’ve got your back.
“I told him congrats, but it’s our job to help him,” Singleton said. “It’s not Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos. It’s the Denver Broncos.”
He points to an example who happens to now share a meeting room with Nix. Back when Zach Wilson was the No. 2 overall pick by the New York Jets in 2021, the pressure clearly stacked up as fast as the early failures did. What resulted was a wall Wilson could never break through.
“You can’t think the weight of the world is on your shoulders,” Singleton said. “Obviously in this league and at that position, it’s like, ‘Hey, you. Right now.’ I think Zach when he first got here was relieved to not have that pressure. You can see it. It kills guys. And he’s been playing so much better the last few weeks than he did because it’s so much when people put everything on you.”
It’s one thing to know that, but another to actually stave it off. This is a quarterback-driven league and the spotlight is intense.
Nix’s preferred method of handling it is to focus on himself and his process.
“You see it in an afternoon walkthrough where we’re just in shorts and he’s getting pissed at himself because he stumbled over the play call or, ‘Hey Joe (Lombardi), I need it again,’” McGlinchey said. “Or, ‘Hey, I missed that.’ He takes a lot of pride in not doing that again. I think that’s really cool. He has a lot of accountability. He’s able to laugh at himself.
“He’s able to joke around and he plays with that confidence that, ‘I’m going to do this and I know how to do it’ and he just lets it rip.”
That’s where Javonte Williams became a believer. The Payton playbook is no joke,
“Some of them plays be like five, six seconds long,” Williams said. “For him to remember that that junk’s just crazy for real. Just the way he carries himself, every day, pro. You can tell he’s been ready for this moment for a long time and now that he’s finally in these shoes, he’s just taken a hold of it and he’s going with the flow.”
It’s that, McGlinchey says, that has impressed him maybe more than anything about Nix. His ability to step in and fit in. Assume command without being too assuming or too commanding.
Nix thinks about this a lot, but in some ways, he also doesn’t think about it all.
He knows, for example, that he can’t step in and lead here exactly like he led Year 2 in Oregon when it was very much his team. This is a group with an All-Pro cornerback and several veteran offensive linemen. Even with a mass exodus of former captains this offseason, a rookie’s not walking into the locker room and barking orders from Day 1. But a quarterback can’t tiptoe, either. That’s not how it works.
So how did he handle it?
“You’ve got to make sure that you have a good feel. You’ve got to make sure that you’re in line before you try to check everybody else,” Nix told The Post midway through camp. “There’s only a small room for a rookie having that voice, especially early like in training camp. We’re fortunate to have older leadership and experience on the team to where they’re handling that really well and they’ve kind of let me figure it out on my own.
“Then, as I’m ready, challenge guys and encourage guys and things like that. There’s definitely a time and a place. Someone told me a long time ago, ‘When leadership is needed, provide it.’”
On most plays in the offensive huddle, Nix is joined by wide receiver Courtland Sutton, McGlinchey, Quinn Meinerz, Ben Powers and Garett Bolles. Those four guys have each played in the league for years, they all make more than $13 million per year, and they all have distinct personalities and leadership styles.
“So Bo knows that he can be comfortable. He can be himself,” McGlinchey said. “He doesn’t have to press. He doesn’t have to pretend to do something just because he’s the quarterback.
“I think the best thing Bo’s done so far is he’s come in and he’s been authentically himself. He’s let that take over. The confidence he’s gained from just being able to do that has then allowed the traits of him as a leader to just kind of rise to the top.
“Everybody’s started to trust that and see it every day and it’s been awesome.”
This has all been a big learning process for Nix, and it’s been the same for his teammates. There’s much more to come for everybody, beginning Week 1 with a tough test on the road. What’s beyond, nobody knows for sure. The opening months with a rookie quarterback, though, have been about as good as McGlinchey could have asked for.
“I don’t know if it was all the way there in OTAs,” McGlinchey said. “He showed who he was in OTAs, he showed the kind of competitiveness and character he had, which everybody fell in love with.
“And then all of a sudden his game started ramping up really, really fast here and he’s done a great job.”
“I told him congrats, but it’s our job to help him,” Singleton said. “It’s not Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos. It’s the Denver Broncos.”
He points to an example who happens to now share a meeting room with Nix. Back when Zach Wilson was the No. 2 overall pick by the New York Jets in 2021, the pressure clearly stacked up as fast as the early failures did. What resulted was a wall Wilson could never break through.
“You can’t think the weight of the world is on your shoulders,” Singleton said. “Obviously in this league and at that position, it’s like, ‘Hey, you. Right now.’ I think Zach when he first got here was relieved to not have that pressure. You can see it. It kills guys. And he’s been playing so much better the last few weeks than he did because it’s so much when people put everything on you.”
It’s one thing to know that, but another to actually stave it off. This is a quarterback-driven league and the spotlight is intense.
Nix’s preferred method of handling it is to focus on himself and his process.
“You see it in an afternoon walkthrough where we’re just in shorts and he’s getting pissed at himself because he stumbled over the play call or, ‘Hey Joe (Lombardi), I need it again,’” McGlinchey said. “Or, ‘Hey, I missed that.’ He takes a lot of pride in not doing that again. I think that’s really cool. He has a lot of accountability. He’s able to laugh at himself.
“He’s able to joke around and he plays with that confidence that, ‘I’m going to do this and I know how to do it’ and he just lets it rip.”
That’s where Javonte Williams became a believer. The Payton playbook is no joke,
“Some of them plays be like five, six seconds long,” Williams said. “For him to remember that that junk’s just crazy for real. Just the way he carries himself, every day, pro. You can tell he’s been ready for this moment for a long time and now that he’s finally in these shoes, he’s just taken a hold of it and he’s going with the flow.”
It’s that, McGlinchey says, that has impressed him maybe more than anything about Nix. His ability to step in and fit in. Assume command without being too assuming or too commanding.
Nix thinks about this a lot, but in some ways, he also doesn’t think about it all.
He knows, for example, that he can’t step in and lead here exactly like he led Year 2 in Oregon when it was very much his team. This is a group with an All-Pro cornerback and several veteran offensive linemen. Even with a mass exodus of former captains this offseason, a rookie’s not walking into the locker room and barking orders from Day 1. But a quarterback can’t tiptoe, either. That’s not how it works.
So how did he handle it?
“You’ve got to make sure that you have a good feel. You’ve got to make sure that you’re in line before you try to check everybody else,” Nix told The Post midway through camp. “There’s only a small room for a rookie having that voice, especially early like in training camp. We’re fortunate to have older leadership and experience on the team to where they’re handling that really well and they’ve kind of let me figure it out on my own.
“Then, as I’m ready, challenge guys and encourage guys and things like that. There’s definitely a time and a place. Someone told me a long time ago, ‘When leadership is needed, provide it.’”
On most plays in the offensive huddle, Nix is joined by wide receiver Courtland Sutton, McGlinchey, Quinn Meinerz, Ben Powers and Garett Bolles. Those four guys have each played in the league for years, they all make more than $13 million per year, and they all have distinct personalities and leadership styles.
“So Bo knows that he can be comfortable. He can be himself,” McGlinchey said. “He doesn’t have to press. He doesn’t have to pretend to do something just because he’s the quarterback.
“I think the best thing Bo’s done so far is he’s come in and he’s been authentically himself. He’s let that take over. The confidence he’s gained from just being able to do that has then allowed the traits of him as a leader to just kind of rise to the top.
“Everybody’s started to trust that and see it every day and it’s been awesome.”
This has all been a big learning process for Nix, and it’s been the same for his teammates. There’s much more to come for everybody, beginning Week 1 with a tough test on the road. What’s beyond, nobody knows for sure. The opening months with a rookie quarterback, though, have been about as good as McGlinchey could have asked for.
“I don’t know if it was all the way there in OTAs,” McGlinchey said. “He showed who he was in OTAs, he showed the kind of competitiveness and character he had, which everybody fell in love with.
“And then all of a sudden his game started ramping up really, really fast here and he’s done a great job.”
