AFC Notes: Davante Adams, Bo Nix, Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders

Broncos

Broncos HC Sean Payton and first-round QB Bo Nix were spotted having an intense conversation during Week 5’s win over the Raiders. Payton said afterwards he was glad to see the rookie speak up. 

“All good. It’s the heat of the moment, it’s the game,” Payton said, via PFT. “It’s competitive, he’s fiery. We’re in the business of passion. We’re looking for passion, and we’re looking for people who have passion for the game — not other things. I think that it’s so important to him. Again, I loved his response. We’re on to the next play, and it’s nothing.”

Payton pinpointed a group of plays in Week 5’s win where they think Nix could’ve improved.  

“We watched the tape this morning, and what we just talked about there might be four plays he’s looking at [saying], ‘I wish we would’ve, I could’ve done this,’” Payton said. “The amount of personnel groupings for instance that he sees defensively. … So he’s doing a real good job with his protections and understanding where he’s short.”

Payton feels Nix is playing with a lot of confidence and is doing well avoiding sacks. 

“I think he’s playing with confidence, and every week his feet make some plays for us that are important. I keep getting back to — I think there were two sacks yesterday — but he’s hard to sack. When he plays, you’re not on the cusp of a minus play. He has real good command of what he’s doing. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: We have to keep painting a better picture around him.”

• ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler think the Broncos could look to trade either QB Zach Wilson or Jarrett Stidham ahead of the trade deadline, with Wilson the easier option to move given his cheap salary. 

Chiefs

Kansas City has rotated between OTs Kingsley Suamataia and Wanya Morris at left tackle with Morris taking over more recently. Chiefs OC Matt Nagy is keeping the competition open and wants one to step up and take the job.

“Ideally, you’d love for one of those guys to just be able to take over and have it,” Nagy said, via SI.com’s Jordan Foote. “I think the beauty of this is right now, going through that, these guys are going to have opportunities. Wanya did a good job last week; he can continue to improve. Kingsley’s got to do the same thing. It’s a part of this league. There’s competition, there’s injuries, so you’ve always got to stay prepared.”

• ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler point out Chiefs G Trey Smith is an extension candidate to watch in the coming weeks, and his eventual deal would likely make him the latest guard to top $20 million per year. 

Raiders

Raiders HC Antonio Pierce said the team looked to get second-round OL Jackson Powers-Johnson involved as quickly as possible, but he may not stay at right guard.

“We were just trying to get him on the field,” Pierce said, via The Athletic. “And (Powers-Johnson playing right guard) might be a one-time deal or it might be (where he plays) going forward.”

Fellow third-round OT Delmar Glaze also received action and said that he felt prepared after getting mental reps behind veterans on the field.

“You literally never know when it’s going to happen,” Glaze said. “I was able to get those mental reps (in practice) and watch guys like Thayer and Kolton (Miller), go and see what they did and what they could’ve done better. I learned, and then when I do get in there, I’m giving it 100 percent on the reps that I’m getting. The biggest thing is the mental part of it and just making sure you stay sharp.”

Pierce thought that Glaze handled his own on the right side of the line.

“I thought he did well,” Pierce said. “He came in there with limited reps throughout the week, but it was just what we saw in training camp. … We’ll see what’s going on with Munford, and if (Glaze) is there, we’re not panicking because, for the most part, DJ showed up.”

• When asked if he wants a quick resolution to Davante Adams‘ trade situation, Pierce responded the receiver is getting close to returning from a hamstring injury: “The hamstring’s getting there. He’s getting closer and closer to getting back on the practice field. Good spirits. We talked. Everything’s good…he’s in a good head space.” (Paul Gutierrez)