Drew Brees is starting to collect his due in retirement. Before he gets a 2026 gold jacket and a bust in Canton, New Orleans honored the best player in franchise history with induction into the Saints Hall of Fame. After a memorable luncheon with a surprise visit from Broncos coach Sean Payton and an emotional halftime ceremony, Brees poked his head into the Amazon broadcast booth with Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit.
Herbstreit, who closely followed both Brees and Broncos quarterback Bo Nix during their college careers, told Brees that the Denver rookie appeared to have a similar, no-nonsense approach.
“I’ve watched him a lot,” said Brees, who ranks second on the NFL’s all-time lists in passing yards, touchdown passes, completions and completion percentage. “There’s a ton of experience, obviously, coming from college.”
That college experience might put Nix on a Brees-like trajectory. Longtime NFL draft expert Rick Gosselin said in April that over his two decades researching drafts, one simple statistic usually translated to NFL success: College passing attempts. Brees had 1,525 at Purdue and Nix had 1,936 at Auburn and Oregon. Brees told Michaels and Herbstreit that Nix has a ton of intangibles and their common head coach, Payton, demands audibles, of course as long as those changes are made in the right situations.
“I see him doing a lot of things at the line of scrimmage, which I know Sean requires of the quarterback position,” Brees said of Nix, who’s already tied John Elway and Drew Lock for most wins by a Broncos rookie quarterback.
“I think where Bo is at his best is when he’s on the perimeter. I think where he can grow leaps and bounds is just throwing from the pocket, being able to get the ball out on time, being able to avoid pressure. And also, in a way that just complements play-action, just be under center a little bit more, and learn to turn his back to the defense. That will set up so much more with their offense in the pass game.”
While Nix certainly can set up so much more in Denver’s passing game – in the 33-10 win at New Orleans Thursday, Nix was 16 of 26 for 164 yards without a touchdown pass or interception, although Tyrann Mathieu uncharacteristically dropped a Nix pass late in the first half – the rookie does differ from Brees in one key area.
Over his 20-year NFL career, Brees had only 752 rushing yards, or 37.6 yards per season. Nix, who has surprised several defensive coaches with his mobility, already has 255 rushing yards in his first seven games. He had 75 yards on 10 carries against the Saints.
Nix has led Denver (4-3) to its best start in eight years, since the Broncos opened 5-2 after winning Super Bowl 50. Now in the thick of the AFC West race, Denver gets a few extra days of rest before hosting Carolina (1-5) on Oct. 27.
Absolutely pulverized by injuries this season, New Orleans (2-5) hopes to get at least a few players back before heading west to meet the Chargers (3-2) at SoFi Stadium Oct. 27.
And, ironically, the programs that produced Nix and Brees play on Saturday when No. 2 Oregon travels to Purdue.
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