Broncos QB Bo Nix not shying away from Super Bowl talk
'It's the goal," Payton said. "It's always the goal, but I think it starts really more in the division. It starts with playing in your division well, having a chance to compete to win your division and then the next goal is seeding. Then the final goal would be trying to get to the championship game.'
Payton has been bold with his proclamations this spring, recently telling Yahoo! Sports that he's coached six teams he believed could win a Super Bowl, and the 2025 Broncos are now the seventh squad on that list. That mentality has resonated with the players, and quarterback Bo Nix echoed his coach's message after Thursday's practice.
"We should all be wanting to go win a Super Bowl," Nix said. "If we're not trying to go win a Super Bowl, why are we here? If you're not trying to be the best of the best in your particular area, ours is the NFL, the National Football League. I believe that's why you go out there and play the game. You go out there to play the game to be the best, beat the best and I feel good about our team but that is not just thrown around. It's not easy to do, obviously and we have a lot of work to do to go get that goal.'
After Thursday's joint practice, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said he is a "huge fan" of Nix, and San Francisco loved the quarterback as a prospect coming into last year's draft. It's clear that Payton also loves him, and he told Yahoo! in that same interview that he believes Nix will become a top-five quarterback within the next two years.
'Well, first, it's good to have a coach that believes in you, but it's also… if he believes that, and I know I have a lot of work to do to get there, I don't want to let that word go void," Nix said when asked about Payton's prediction. "I want to give my best shot at going out there and doing that.
"Not just obviously for him, for our team, for this organization, but for myself -- we put a lot of hard work into this, each and every day is a battle and a grind. We just want to see the fruits of our labor, and so I think that's obviously our goal. We talk about Super Bowls, talk about winning culture, that helps a lot in being the best that I can be.'
The Broncos have talked the talk. We'll soon find out if they can walk the walk.
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