After a strong rookie season by Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, the Drew Brees reference is unanimous, but one insider arguably said it best.

Brees, who retired in 2021, played for Broncos head coach Sean Payton in New Orleans from 2006 to 2020 and won a Super Bowl in the 2010 season.

Payton’s choice of Nix in Denver added to the Nix-Brees comparisons since last year’s draft.

“Of course knew he was smart. and understood football and all that stuff,” Simms continued. “I called that at the combine last year,” Pro Football Talk’s Phil Simms told the “DNVR Broncos Podcast” on Tuesday at the Super Bowl. “I said ‘Bo Nix – Drew Brees Jr. – going to Denver. Guaranteed it.”

Nix delivered in 2024 amid a 66.3% completion rate for 3,775 yards and 29 touchdowns versus 12 interceptions.

Brees was known for putting up similar — or better numbers — throughout his career. He averaged 4,534 yards and 33 touchdowns per year in New Orleans.

Simms can speak from experience as a former NFL quarterback himself, but he’s not the only former NFL signal-caller to draw the Nix-Brees comparison. ESPN  analyst Dan Orlovsky, who also played quarterback in the NFL, sees a “similar” style between the two.

“We’re not saying they’re the same player. We’re saying the style of play is similar. Think some of the mannerisms are similar,” Orlovsky told the “DNVR Broncos Podcast” on Thursday.

“Obviously, Drew was one of the greats and a Hall of Famer. So, there’s a very high bar that I think one, the consistent ball placement – accuracy in the quick game,” Orlovsky added.

Former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel, who was a backup behind Brees at one point in his career, says he had “seen Nix morph into” Brees in 2024.

Daniel was the backup to Brees for five seasons from 2009 to 2012 and again in 2017.

“Demeanor, mannerisms, and cadence sounds exactly like him,” Daniel said on X.com in December 2024.