Denver Broncos third-year quarterback looked hesitantas if he was unsure of what he was seeing or afraid of being touched. It turns out fear played a big role in Nix’s funk, and a lot of it came from his ankle injury.
Based on what an NFL insider James Palmer posted on X this weekthis fear is twofold. Palmer has deep ties to the Broncos front office, and his long tenure on X has offered plenty of insight into what the team thinks is happening with Nix.
Let’s look at what Palmer had to say, starting with the root cause of Nix’s meltdown: the fear factor.
Play not to lose
Nix seems afraid of being hit And return the ball. It’s easy to see that he still carries some ankle anxiety, but instead of that play-to-win mindset that helped him win 24 games in his first two seasons as a starter, he now seems to be too focused on playing the game to not lose.
“My understanding is that there is a difference with Nix in 2026, where Nix is more focused on not losing the game than winning the game. Don’t turn the ball over,” Palmer wrote. “Don’t be the reason we lose the game. It manifests in his mind to the point where the conservative approach has become a problem on the field.”
Despite a Pro Bowl wide receiver – Courtland Sutton – who Nix has targeted 287 times since 2024, a two-time Pro Bowl tight end – Evan Engram – and a dynamic new weapon the Broncos paid big money to acquire – Jaylen Waddle – the young quarterback leads the NFL in passes behind the line of scrimmage. That’s good news for Fantasy PPR owners who drafted running back RJ Harvey, but it’s bad news for the Broncos offense.
Nix will not push the ball vertically or target the middle of the field. As noted by Warren Sharp on63% of Nix’s passes have been outside the numbers, the most in the NFL, but his 6.0 yards per attempt on those throws ranks 32nd in the NFL.
Fear is a powerful motivator. But you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Forgive the cliché.
All opponents have to do is keep the shell two high to deter Nix from throwing deep, swarm the boundary, and they can shut down the Broncos offense. Obviously, he’s hesitant to throw inside, which makes it easy for opponents to predict what he’ll do.
Avoidance in the middle of the field has been a flaw in Nix’s game since he entered the league, but he’s taken it to a whole new level this season. It’s a big reason why Sutton is on track to have a career-low year and why Waddle only has 228 receiving yards so far.
Don’t be afraid to run
Palmer reports that Nix’s ankle is “fine,” and while the Broncos understand that recovering from a serious injury can take time, they want to see him take a big hit so he can get back on his feet and realize he’s fine. This could also help Nix assert himself more with his legs.
“The Broncos want Nix to run the game more and they see a player who is a little timid right now,” Palmer wrote. “If you look at the runs that Denver has put together, a lot of them he’s looking for on the sidelines and he’s looking for a way to get down as early as possible. He’s not looking for the extra yards or the yards needed in key situations. That’s been frustrating.”
Nix has definitely seemed a lot more reluctant to use his legs this season. But his mobility has always been a big part of his game and the threat he poses to defenses, and his newfound shyness has taken that out of the equation this season.
When it comes to off-schedule throws, Nix has never been on Patrick Mahomes’ level, but it’s always been one of his strengths — until this season. This season, when Nix breaks the pocket, he looks anxious and uncertain, leading to fewer rushing yards and fewer big off-schedule completions.
Nix looks uncomfortable, even when the Broncos offensive line leaves his pockets clean. He gets rid of his pockets early, which not only sabotages routes on the play call, but it puts him in motion where, as we just said, he’s not playing with composure and seeing the field.
Jumpy in the pocket
It appears the Broncos are frustrated with Nix’s reluctance to use his legs. And according to Palmer, the fear created by his injury has a lot to do with his sketchy pocket presence.
“This plays a role in drifting or leaking from clean pockets, I was told. This has always been a problem for him throughout his career, but this year it’s more exaggerated and impacts a passing game where WRs are open,” Palmer wrote. “Nix is often in motion before the first read even hits the top of its run. Play designs have longer downstream development, so it’s a bad combination at the moment.”
Nix doesn’t give his receivers the time they need to run the route and get open. He relies on clean pockets, and even though he calls it “hero-ball,” it essentially cuts the field in half and reduces the Broncos’ offense to an exercise in sloppy football.
Payton wants Nix to “let ‘Uh Rip'”
Sean Payton and the Broncos coaches are working to bring Nix out of that shell. After the Broncos’ Week 5 win over the Chargers, Payton said on the podium that he wished Nix “let it rip“.
Nix interpreted this to mean “trust what you see.” But we didn’t see any change in his performance Thursday night.
Against the Seattle Seahawks four days later, we saw Nix uncork two downfield passes, neither of which were complete, although one resulted in a defensive pass interference penalty that put the Broncos on the one-yard line. From there, however, the Seahawks continued to deploy the two-high shell overhand and dared Nix to throw it underhand; when he did, they invaded and attacked.
The Broncos went 3 of 14 on third down against Seattle because of this and their inability to get the running game going. This all adds up to a sucky world for the Broncos offense.
If Nix can start trusting his eyes and his O-line again, anything is possible. According to Palmer, Nix is too scared.
“Nix sometimes sees ghosts,” Palmer wrote.
Takeaways
Payton made it clear on Monday that the Broncos are not considering making a change at quarterback. Nix is 18-3 in his last 21 starts. No team positions a quarterback with a .700 winning percentage.
But Palmer reports the Broncos are “concerned.” That being said, based on Nix’s 30-game sample as a starter in the NFL, the Broncos believe they have plenty to lean on to help him get back on the horse.
That brutal six-game schedule played a much bigger role in Nix’s failure to get going this year than most people realize. Now that the Broncos have been through this – coming through this challenge with a 4-2 record – I think we’ll start to see Nix relax a little.
This is a guy who is always at his best when the chips are low and the pressure is highest. All it would take is one big game to shake off the cobwebs and get Nix back to playing like he did before his injury.
The schedule opens now, starting with this week’s road trip to take on the Arizona Cardinals. There is a lot of season left to play and Nix has proven to be one of the best finishers in the NFL.
He may not have started off on the right foot, but if past results are the best indicator of future results, I expect Nix to finish strong.
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