Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix was elected as a team captain by his peers this summer, and it’s easy to see why.
Nix is not a rah-rah leader, opting to lead more by example, but his style fits him because it’s genuine. After Wednesday’s practice, Nix was asked about his leadership style and rookie quarterback recalled a time when his middle school football coach encouraged him to be more of a leader.
“I remember asking him, ‘What kind of leader do you want me to be?’” Nix recalled. “There are several [types]. I think the leadership thing, it’s very broad. It goes very deep. I think when there’s a leadership opportunity on your team, it’s important to provide it. If that’s leading by action, if that’s showing up first or if that’s getting out here to the field early, or staying late, or going through an extra play. Whatever that means by action. Or is it verbal? Do the guys need some verbal cues to get them going? Do they need some ‘Hoo-rah’ speeches? That sometimes can be good. Sometimes it can also just be noise.
“I think there’s service leadership. I think you can pick up the field for the guys, or run an errand for somebody. I think there are a lot of forms of leadership. I think the best leaders understand that there are multiple styles, they do those styles well and they have a good eye for those individual needs. I was told long ago when there’s a leadership opportunity, you just provide it no matter what it looks like. But in order to be a leader, you have to have followers. It’s important to have the trust of the guys around you. Anybody can be a leader.”
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Nix has quickly emerged as a key leader on the team despite being a rookie, but he’s been calculated in his approach as the second-youngest team captain on the squad (cornerback Pat Surtain is two months younger).
“My role right now is simply: I have to go out there and perform on Sundays so that I can help these guys win games and keep these guys going,” Nix said. “That’s my job as a quarterback for them right now. You have to honestly take the rookie out of it — it doesn’t matter. They’re looking at you like a starting quarterback in the league, so I just have to treat it that way. Right now being young, I can’t talk a whole lot. There’s not much I can say. I haven’t really proven anything, so I just have to go out there and work. They want to see the work, and they want to see how hard I’m preparing and what I’m doing off the field. Do I show up the same every day? I think when they see that, they have a form of respect and trust. Then they know when you go out there and make a few plays, then they believe in you, and they know they can trust you in critical moments. It’s just all about doing it right now.
“I know it’s a young stage in my career, so when there’s a time to speak up and say something, that’s usually when you can gain their attention because you [use] your words wisely. I’m not talking all the time just to talk. So sometimes, like I said, that talk just is noise. Guys hear so much noise already that they don’t want to hear it from me. It’s all about putting my head down and working hard, and I think they respect that.”
The method has worked. Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton, who is five years older than Nix, said players gravitate to the quarterback.
“The way that he prepares, he almost gives off a vibe of… I can show you, but then I can tell you in the sense of he might not be the ‘rah rah’ loud guy, but he knows how to get guys going in his own way,” Sutton said. “Speaking for myself and just how it seems around the locker room, guys are gravitating to it. He continues to show up week-in and week-out prepared, ready to go, has that fire and has that juice when he plays. I think just the way that he goes about his business is a big part of his leadership style.”
Nix, 24, has completed 63.8% of his passes for 2,842 passing yards this season while adding 304 yards on the ground and scoring 22 total touchdowns. He’ll look to build on his productive season when Denver hosts the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15.
