Through growing pains, bumps and bruises, Nix turned in quite an inaugural season, leading the Broncos to their first postseason appearance in nine seasons.

Denver put its first-round draft pick on the field immediately, and the payoff was the team’s first playoff appearance in nine years.

Well, the simple answer is we didn’t win a Super Bowl,” Nix said of his rookie year. “So there’s a lot to learn from, a lot to grow from.”