ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Bo Nix spotted his target streaking up the field and had a plan. What he didn’t have was the angle he needed to make the throw.So Nix, the Denver Broncos’ third-year starting quarterback, shifted to his left, sprinted up in the pocket with four quick steps and delivered a dart up the seam to veteran wide receiver Courtland Sutton for a first down during a hurry-up situation for Denver’s offense.On the surface, there was nothing unusual about a play that featured the kind of movement Nix has made in practices and games since becoming the team’s starting quarterback in 2024. But on Thursday, during his first full camp practice after two offseason ankle surgeries, the sequence produced a subtle message: Nix isn’t changing the way he approaches his position.Bo Nix hits training camp running on surgically-repaired ankleNick Kosmider“Absolutely not,” Nix said Saturday when asked if the ankle surgeries, triggered by an injury he suffered during the final drive of a thrilling overtime playoff win against the Buffalo Bills in January, would affect his play style. “I’m going to roll. I’m going to be as athletic as I can be. It’s a strength of ours, and so we’ve got to use our strengths. For me, that’s when I feel at my best and when I feel free. When I’m playing like that and I’m moving around, it’s a good thing. At the same time, I also know what it’s like to not have that asset and have to stay in the pocket. I feel strong no matter what the play is going to be, no matter what happens defensively, no matter what my reaction is. I feel capable of doing anything.”Nix’s first four practices this week — two “acclimation” workouts earlier in the week, followed by two full practices Friday and Saturday — have largely erased any concerns that there would be a lingering impact on Nix’s mobility as he began camp. There is no contact, of course, for quarterbacks in camp. He hasn’t had to turn upfield and sprint for a first down in a have-to-have-it situation in a prime-time game. But Nix already has found himself in plenty of spots that force him to plant, push and move off that right ankle — and there’s no indication that movement has been hindered.An example came during a play in an 11-on-11 period for the Broncos on Saturday. Nix faked a handoff during an 11-on-11 session Saturday, sprinted quickly to his right to evade the pass rush and then launched a ball on the run, hitting receiver Pat Bryant for what amounted to a 50-yard touchdown. There were similar scenes throughout the first four practices, ones that mirrored the style Nix has used while throwing more passes outside the pocket (275) than any quarterback in the league the past two seasons, according to TruMedia. It’s also a trait that has helped him avoid pressure in a way that has been critical to Denver’s progression into a contending-type team. Only the Rams’ Matthew Stafford (3.5 percent) has been sacked on a lower rate of his dropbacks the past two seasons than Nix (6.5 percent) has.“It’s one of his superpowers,” Payton said. “It’s hard to sack some quarterbacks, and he’s one of them.”That Nix has been his elusive self at the outset of camp has come as no surprise to those who watched his rehab up close. Outside of a couple of weeks training in Alabama, Nix did most of his preparation for training camp alongside a chunk of other veterans who stay in the Denver area to train. The Broncos held Nix out of OTAs and limited his participation in minicamp, but teammates saw a quarterback who, even at that point, already looked like the player who has helped the Broncos win 24 games the past two seasons.“I saw him every step of the way, and he was checking all his boxes,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey said, “attacking his rehab hard, as he always does everything. … (His work is) the reason why he’s in position to be full-go from Day 1 to start. He looks great out there, he’s ready to compete, and we’re excited to have him.”During the first week of training camp, Nix appeared at ease for reasons that went beyond the confidence he has in his surgically repaired ankle. He is entering his third year in Payton’s offense, and though the plays will now be relayed to the quarterback from newly promoted offensive coordinator Davis Webb, Nix said he has developed muscle memory with the schemes, which is helping him target more nuanced improvements in camp. Payton said Nix is further along in this camp in his ability to find solutions against some of the complex, sub-defense and pressure looks defensive coordinator Vance Joseph is sending his way.“When you have a second-nature thought process and you know the play and you’re not thinking about the operation or a motion or a route concept or a handoff point, you can attack the defense in more of a strategic way,” Nix said. “So my eyes are up a little bit more. I just feel comfortable. It’s kind of like riding a bike for a third year as opposed to the first. You just get up on it, and it’s by memory at this point.”It helps, too, that the so-called big change for Nix — Webb calling the plays instead of Payton — comes with its own familiarity. Webb served as Nix’s quarterbacks coach during his first two seasons. Payton joked earlier this offseason that Webb had served the role of Nix’s “warm and fuzzy” as he began shouldering the responsibility of being the team’s starting quarterback. That history has helped Nix and Webb develop their own shorthand when navigating the playbook. Nix stressed that there aren’t significant differences between the two play callers, but it’s clear he is already comfortable with how he and Webb will operate together in their new QB-play caller dynamic.“I feel like Davis is doing a great job of communicating with me, and not over-communicating with me but just giving me a few things here and there, reminders and little things about a play,” Nix said. “Like, ‘Hey, don’t forget this. Remember we’ve got this.’ I think that’s going to be great with that communication in my ear.”