Broncos

Broncos HC Sean Payton isn’t shy about letting people know when something is starting to annoy him, and he’s starting to get fed up with some of the narratives about QB Bo Nix. Denver’s selection of Nix at No. 12 overall last year was lampooned as a reach at the time by plenty of analysts. The perception was that Nix was maxed out physically and his stats were inflated from the move from Auburn to Oregon’s spread offense. But Payton cites a deep touchdown throw to WR Marvin Mims in a December game against the Bengals to refute the critics. 

“That was the longest pass, by air yards, in the league in the ’24 season,” Payton said via Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. “The ’24 season, the longest ball traveled is from the guy that has no arm strength.”

Payton can rattle off a whole laundry list of things he thinks the Broncos were wise to that contradicted the pre-draft perception of Nix, from some of his athletic testing numbers, to how well Nix threw the ball in his private workout with the team, to various stats like Nix’s efficiency from a dirty pocket and how well he did at avoiding sacks — both of which projected well to the NFL. Payton believes Nix fell victim to groupthink in the pre-draft process, and some of those perceptions are still lingering. 

“If you’re not careful, there’s this train that’s moving with these assumptions,” Payton said. “And no one really knows who’s driving it. We know there’s a number of people grading, and in charge of the draft, but it’s not like there’s a captain. And it just moves. I said to [CEO] Greg Penner, ‘It’s important that we pay attention to that train, because that can give us information, relative to other teams. But man, let’s never hop on.’”

As for what the truth really is about what Nix can be in the NFL? 

“I honestly think he’s gonna be one of the top quarterbacks within the next two years,” Payton added. “I think he’s going to be a superstar.”

Chargers

• Daniel Popper of The Athletic writes Chargers OLB Caleb Murphy is making a “strong case” for a spot on the active roster, given he currently has a role on the first-team special teams unit. 
• Regarding fourth-round OLB Kyle Kennard, DC Jesse Minter said they are still figuring out the best way to get him involved: “[We are] still kind of figuring out the best way for him to rush.”
• According to Popper, second-year WR Brenden Rice had his best practice since joining the team after recording two touchdowns in 11-on-11 drills. 
• Popper notes that Los Angeles’ starting offensive line in last Sunday’s practice was as follows: LT Rashawn Slater, LG Bradley Bozeman, C Zion Johnson, RG Jamaree Salyer, RT Joe Alt.
• The Chargers brought back veteran WR Keenan Allen this week. When asked how Allen and WR Ladd McConkey fit into the same offense, given that both players have experience in the slot, GM Joe Hortiz responded that Allen split time with D.J. Moore in the slot with the Bears last season: “I think DJ Moore played a lot of slot and they both were both on the field 80% of the time last year. You get good players on the field and you play them.” (Kris Rhim)
• Hortiz reiterated that they will be “creative” with how they use McConkey and Allen:  “You can get creative with a lot of different players.” (Popper)

Chiefs

Chiefs WR Marquise Brown re-signed to a one-year deal this offseason and enters 2025 after missing 15 games last year. Kansas City OC Matt Nagy said they need Brown to return to practice so he can develop chemistry with Patrick Mahomes. 

“Well, it’s got to happen quickly when he gets back,” Nagy said, via Pete Grathoff of KansasCity.com. “I know Hollywood wants to be out here, and he’s not, so you are missing out on that timing. And so I know he’s frustrated from last year, when he came in at the end of the year, helped us out. When he gets back, whenever that is, they gotta go full speed and get that down. And I know he’s doing everything he can to get back on track, but that timing, man, is so critical, and Hollywood knows that. So what he’s got to do right now is to get back on that field.”

Nagy mentioned that Mahomes is putting a lot of effort into refining his deep passes. 

“I really felt like today was, as a group and in particular with Pat, one of our better days with those type of throws,” Nagy said. “Some downfield stuff (with) the timing element, it wasn’t one of those deals where you’re scrambling, throwing the ball away and catching a ball off-timing. These were all on-timing throws, and then guys were making great catches. So I was really pleased with that.”

• Chiefs WR Rashee Rice did not practice on Wednesday because of a groin injury. (Nate Taylor)  

Raiders

• Raiders LT Kolton Miller‘s three-year, $66 million extension includes a $10 million signing bonus and base salaries of $12.5 million, $20 million, $17.562 million and $17.562 million. His 2025 base and $2.5 million of his 2026 base salary are guaranteed.
• Miller can also make up to $170,000 annually in per-game roster bonuses and a $50,000 workout bonus in 2025. (OverTheCap)

The post AFC Notes: Bo Nix, Keenan Allen, Hollywood Brown, Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs, Raiders appeared first on NFLTradeRumors.co.