On Sunday, spectators will witness a head-to-head matchup between two rapidly growing offensive powerhouses, both of whom are legitimate Rookie of the Year candidates.
Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix and Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers were selected in consecutive rounds of the NFL draft last April, and they have since played admirably in the pros.
Nix is clearly on Raiders head coach Antonio Piece’s radar, and that’s especially true following another award-winning performance last week.
“He won as a freshman. “He was a winner as a six-year player,” Pierce said about Nix. “All he does is win and come into the league. Won the quarterback duel in Denver. Perhaps they were keeping them on a tight leash at first and are now loosening it. He has complete control over that offense. Sean Payton, as you can see, offers him opportunity to audible and make changes. He’s making throws, running with his legs, controlling the football, and winning. That’s all you can want of a rookie.”
Nix poses a clear and present threat to the Raiders’ chances of securing only their third win of a disastrous season. Stopping the outstanding rookie is proving to be a challenge for NFL teams, particularly those with a beaten-up roster like the Raiders.
“This is crazy,” Raiders linebacker Divine Deablo told ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez. “I’ve never seen this amount of injuries on any team I’ve been on.”
This week, Broncos head coach Sean Payton slowed the rising buzz surrounding Nix. Having saying that, you get the impression that Payton is quite content to unleash Nix’s entire arsenal of abilities. Nix’s confidence is building, as evidenced by Payton’s willingness to share his playbook with his first-year signal-caller.
The juices are flowing, and Payton could have discovered a solution in athletic second-year receiver Marvin Mims Jr. The mythical “joker” role in the Broncos offense appears to have been filled.
“I believe we must constantly ask ourselves, ‘Are we doing everything possible to highlight his strengths?'” And so, yeah, I’m not sure if he has the ‘joker’ tattoo, but he might get accepted to the club,” Payton told Andrew Mason.
When it comes down to it, if Nix plays lights out again, Denver may get an easy win, but stopping Bowers would also ensure the victory and aid him in the battle for Rookie of the Year. Payton is already on high alert, but his demonstration of Bowers’ “joker” powers elicited a touch of football envy.
“Someone had a really good vision for him and you see all the ‘Joker’ traits, means and change of direction,” Payton told reporters on Bowers. “It can’t be so little. It’s a high-end receiving trait, and he can move, play outside, and run a route tree that may differ from most tight ends.”
