Sean Payton usually saves the red pen for his play sheet, but on Thursday he aimed it at Geoff Schwartz after the former NFL lineman questioned whether Bo Nix has much development left in him.
Sean Payton Fires Back at Geoff Schwartz
Schwartz, who spent the 2013 season with the Kansas City Chiefs, argued on “First Things First” that Nix is more likely to regress than progress in Year 3. Payton saw the clip and answered with six words that landed harder than a film-room correction.
“I do think he just is what he is at this point,” Schwartz said on the show. “He looks like the same quarterback he was in college.”
Schwartz credited Nix for being steady and avoiding mistakes, but said he does not “push the ball down the field all that often.” He also questioned Nix’s work between the hashes and said he does not expect the Denver Broncos quarterback to develop into a Pro Bowl- or All-Pro-caliber player.
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Payton did not bother with a statistical rebuttal in his X response: “Always easy to tell who works at it and who doesn’t.”
Always easy to tell who works at it and who doesn’t.
— Sean Payton (@SeanPayton) August 27, 2026
The numbers make Schwartz’s downfield criticism the most debatable part of his argument. According to Next Gen Stats, Nix has thrown 19 touchdowns on passes traveling at least 20 air yards since the start of 2024, including the postseason, the most in the NFL over that span.
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There is more room for debate when the discussion shifts from explosiveness to overall efficiency. Nix finished 2025 with 3,931 passing yards, 25 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions while completing 63.4% of his throws. His 74.9 PFN QB Impact grade ranked No. 19 among qualifying quarterbacks, right around the model’s average-starter benchmark.
Nix Enters Year 3 with a Better Supporting Cast
That middle-of-the-pack efficiency did not stop Denver from going 14-3, earning the AFC’s No. 1 seed and reaching the conference championship game. Nix also produced seven game-winning drives, the most in the league, before a broken ankle in the Divisional Round ended his postseason.
Denver spent the offseason giving him more help rather than treating his ceiling as settled. The Broncos traded for Jaylen Waddle, adding one of the NFL’s fastest receivers to a group that already includes Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims Jr., and Evan Engram.
Nix’s only preseason appearance offered a small preview. He completed 6 of 9 passes for 76 yards and a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers, leading two scoring drives before Payton pulled him. The coach said Nix will probably sit Friday’s finale against the Minnesota Vikings.
Schwartz’s broader point is that Denver has built an offense around what Nix already does well. Payton’s response suggests he has little patience for anyone treating that as proof his quarterback has stopped developing.
