On Sunday, the Green Bay Packers will travel to Mile High to play the Denver Broncos in their second preseason game. The Packers played fairly well against the Cleveland Browns last week, but they will face a different test this week. Bo Nix is one of the hottest, most hyped rookie quarterbacks entering the league.
As a freshman at the University of Auburn, Nix beat Alabama in the Iron Bowl. After transferring to the University of Oregon in 2022, he put up back-to-back All-American seasons and even a Heisman-caliber season in 2023.
The Broncos took him with the 12th-overall pick after they traded Russell Wilson to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Last week against the Indianapolis Colts, Nix only played for the second quarter and the start of the third quarter. He completed 15 of 21 passes for 125 yards and threw a one-yard touchdown to Marvin Mims Jr.
Denver has already named Nix the starting quarterback for this weekend’s game against Green Bay, so he will likely play against Green Bay’s defense for the entire first half before Jarrett Stidham comes in to relieve him. Nix will test Green Bay’s defense, especially its secondary, including young newcomers Javon Bullard and Xavier McKinney.
Last week, Green Bay’s defense played fairly well against Cleveland. They only gave up a field goal early and a touchdown in garbage time when they were already up by 20.
In Denver’s first preseason game, Nix led four long drives that all ended with points, two with field goals and two with touchdowns. On one drive, he led the Broncos on a seven-play, 75-yard surge that only lasted 1:19 of game time
Denver’s offensive flow will change from how it looked against Indianapolis because Nix is starting against Green Bay. Given that it is his first start, expect many running plays early. If he throws the ball much out of the gate, it will probably be short passing plays and screens.
Green Bay can counter this attack by putting seven or eight players in the box early to combat the run. Given that Nix is a rookie, I doubt Sean Payton will have him calling audibles at the line of scrimmage if Green Bay’s defense shows heavy run defense.
Still, the Packers can attack Nix in many different ways. Even if Green Bay puts a lot of guys in the box on a passing play, it will not only provide them with the opportunity to blitz Bo Nix and force either a bad throw or a sack, but it will also allow the defensive backs to make a play on an island with no help.
Jeff Hafley could also have his defense line up showing blitz and bluff off it when the play starts. This could fluster Nix, who probably wants to get the ball out of his hands quickly. However, if the Packers drop seven or eight players back into coverage, that could force him to throw the ball straight to a defender.
Nix is not a downfield thrower. He’s much more likely to find a guy open in the flat or near the first-down marker, hoping the receiver will gain yards after the catch. That worked effectively at Oregon, given all of the speedy wide receivers he worked with. He has Marvin Mims Jr. and Courtland Sutton in Denver, but they don’t stand out in the NFL like Troy Franklin and Tez Johnson did in the Pac-12.
Green Bay’s best bet for defending Denver’s passing game would be to put the corners down low at the line to jam the receivers to throw them off their routes. If the receivers get past the jam, the Packers should have Bullard and McKinney pick up the routes and make a play. We all know that Bullard is good at that.
That should be fun to watch and will answer how these offseason free-agent pickups and draft picks perform against a quality young quarterback. If they can shut him down completely, there are things to get excited about. If he performs well and throws for quite a few yards, the defense will have to do some significant tinkering in practice next week.
