Bo Nix

Bo Nix will have a familiar number during his rookie season.

Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk noted the Denver Broncos announced Thursday that the first-year quarterback will wear No. 10, which is also what he wore at Oregon and in high school.

Thursday's announcement was something of a game of musical numbers for the Broncos' quarterbacks, as Zach Wilson was originally going to be No. 10 after he was acquired via trade from the New York Jets.

Instead, he agreed to give up the number to Nix and will now wear No. 4, which prompted a change from No. 4 to No. 8 for Jarrett Stidham.

All eyes will be on Nix after the Broncos selected him with the No. 12 overall pick of the 2024 NFL draft. Perhaps he won't start right away, but he is the clear-cut franchise quarterback of the future for the AFC West team.

He thrived in his final season at Oregon and completed 77.4 percent of his passes for 4,508 yards, 45 touchdowns and three interceptions as the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year.

If he puts up numbers like that in the NFL, the No. 10 jersey will be flying off the shelves in Denver.

The Denver Broncos took a unique approach to hiding the team's interest in former Oregon quarterback Bo Nix ahead of the 2024 NFL draft.

According to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, head coach Sean Payton and the rest of Denver's front office had the quarterbacks in the 2024 class listed in "no particular order" on their draft board in order to "prevent any sort of bias in discussion and also, simply, to keep the brass' secret."

Nix was still available by the time the Broncos were on the clock and was subsequently selected by the team with the No. 12 overall pick.

Following the release of former starter Russell Wilson in the offseason, Denver has a quarterback room with multiple new faces heading into the 2024 season. The Broncos traded for signal-caller Zach Wilson in an April 23 trade with the New York Jets.

Nix's Pro Day performance was enough to sway Payton, who told general manager George Paton "I really like this guy" after he heard from college director Brian Stark and area scout David Bratten about their experiences with the quarterback (per Breer).

The 24-year-old wrapped up an impressive 2023 campaign with the Ducks, completing 77.4 percent of his throws for 4,508 yards and 45 touchdowns compared to a mere three interceptions.

The Broncos' pre-draft plan for selecting Nix was a success. Now, he'll attempt to win the starting job as a rookie and establish himself as Denver's franchise quarterback moving forward.

There is reportedly belief from some within the NFL that Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton will be able to get the most out of rookie quarterback Bo Nix.

Speaking to Mike Sando of The Athletic, one anonymous NFL executive expressed their belief that Payton's system is the perfect situation for the former Oregon signal-caller, saying:

"I'm betting on it [succeeding] heavily. Bo has experience, he has enough arm talent and I think he is going to do what he is coached to do. Sean Payton's system is optimal for him. Bo is not going to go off-script as much as Russ was going to do. Look, I don't want him to be successful, but I think he is going to be legit there."

A second exec noted that while they don't necessarily think highly of Nix as an NFL prospect, they believe Payton has the best chance of helping Nix reach his potential: "I'm not a Bo Nix fan, but if anybody can get something out of him, Sean could. He'll program that kid to do exactly what he wants every week. It won't be enough the first year, but Sean will buy a third year to develop the kid and see if he can get him through."

Nix is an older prospect at 24, but he enters the NFL with a wealth of experience, as his 61 career starts at Auburn and Oregon are the most by a quarterback in NCAA history.

Everything came together for Nix during the 2023 season, as he excelled in Oregon head coach Dan Lanning's high-octane offense.

Nix completed 77.4 percent of his passes for 4,508 yards, 45 touchdowns and just three interceptions, earning him a third-place finish in the Heisman Trophy voting.

The Broncos took Nix with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, making him the sixth quarterback off the board behind Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, Michael Penix Jr. and J.J. McCarthy.

While Nix's college production was spectacular, many draft experts considered taking him a huge reach at 12th overall.

However, the Broncos had a massive need at quarterback after parting ways with veteran Russell Wilson. Prior to drafting Nix, Zach Wilson and Jarrett Stidham were the top two quarterbacks on the roster.

Payton has long been heralded as an offensive genius, as he won a Super Bowl as head coach of the New Orleans Saints and helped quarterback Drew Brees author a Hall of Fame career.

The Broncos turned to Payton after Wilson flopped in his first season in Denver, and although Wilson was not as good as he was earlier in his career with the Seattle Seahawks, he was much better under Payton in 2023, throwing for 3,070 yards, 26 touchdowns and eight picks.

Nix's viability as an NFL quarterback remains to be seen, but his success or lack thereof in the coming years will likely determine Payton's fate as the Broncos' head coach.

Six quarterbacks were selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft, so naturally, many are already wondering which of them will pan out and which of them won't.

While speaking on The Adam Schefter Podcast, ESPN's Field Yates and Mel Kiper Jr. debated (40:50 mark) who the biggest bust will be in this year's QB class.

Yates named Atlanta Falcons No. 8 pick Michael Penix Jr., while Kiper chose Bo Nix, who was selected at No. 12 by the Denver Broncos.

Yates explained that Penix's age and injury history could be detrimental to his career prospects. The former Washington signal-caller is turning 24 on May 8 and isn't projected to play for a few years while he learns behind veteran signal-caller Kirk Cousins.

"We just don't know when he is actually going to be the starter in Atlanta. ... If he doesn't start until he's 26, 27 years old, that's one thing. But I also know that he had a very long medical history that teams were examining very, very closely," Yates said. "He tore the same right ACL twice during his college career and had two separate season-ending shoulder injuries."

While Kiper believes Nix has landed in a solid situation with Broncos head coach Sean Payton, he said he chose the former Oregon starter because he was the lowest-rated QB on his draft board among the first-round selections.

Kiper noted that Nix has some similarities to Drew Brees, who thrived under Payton, but he doesn't expect him to transform into the legendary quarterback anytime soon.

Only time will tell if Yates and Kiper's predictions turn out to be correct, but Penix and Nix will surely be motivated to prove them wrong.

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton's affection for Bo Nix remains a talking point coming out of the 2024 NFL draft.

On the latest episode of The Adam Schefter Podcast (starts at 20:20 mark), ESPN's Adam Schefter said Payton believes Nix is "as good as any quarterback" in the 2024 class after they finished their evaluation of him.

The Broncos' decision to select Nix at No. 12 overall came as a surprise. It was known they were searching for a potential starting quarterback after releasing Russell Wilson, but the Oregon signal-caller wasn't generally believed to be going that high in the first round.

The MMQB's Albert Breer reported on April 23 the Broncos were making calls about potentially trading down to accrue more assets because they didn't have a second-round pick.

Instead, the Broncos remained at their original spot and went with Nix. The decision immediately led to Schefter reporting Payton felt "as strongly" about Nix as he did Patrick Mahomes in 2017 when he wanted to draft him to the New Orleans Saints.

If Payton and the Broncos truly believe Nix is as good as any quarterback in the 2024 draft, none of the outside noise about whether or not it was a reach matters.

The only thing that matters going forward is if Payton can help mold Nix into the quarterback he needs to make the Broncos competitive. The 60-year-old coach has had a lot of success with quarterbacks in the past.

When Drew Brees missed time in 2019 and 2020, the Saints went 8-1 with Teddy Bridgewater and Taysom Hill starting games.

The Broncos haven't finished with a winning record since 2016 and haven't made the playoffs since winning Super Bowl 50 after the 2015 season.

If the Denver Broncos wanted to put Bo Nix, the No. 12 pick in the 2024 NFL draft, in an environment that would make him comfortable right away, their selection of Troy Franklin is a good starting point.

The Broncos reunited the Oregon quarterback and wide receiver by drafting Franklin with the second pick in the fourth round (No. 102 overall) on Saturday.

Fans and analysts were happy to hype the Ducks reunion in Denver, as well as pairing Franklin with Marvin Mims Jr. as the Broncos' top two receivers.

Upon transferring to Oregon before the 2022 season, Nix immediately zeroed in on Franklin as his go-to target.

The duo connected for 142 receptions, 2,274 yards and 23 touchdowns in 26 games. Franklin had eight games with more than 100 yards last season, tied with Marvin Harrison Jr. and South Alabama's Caullin Lacy for the fourth-most in FBS.

Malik Washington (10), Rome Odunze (10) and Malik Nabers (nine) were the only receivers with more 100-yard games in 2023.

Franklin could end up being the biggest steal of the draft relative to where he was expected to go. He was the 42nd-ranked player overall on the consensus big board.

B/R's NFL scouting department had Franklin lower than that at No. 76 overall, but Derrik Klassen noted in his report the 21-year-old boasts "exciting" speed with "crafty route-running and attention to detail" that gives him a solid floor.

The Broncos entered the draft somewhat limited in what they could do. They only had two picks in the top 100, with no second-rounder because of the trade package they gave the New Orleans Saints for Sean Payton.

Once Payton and general manager George Paton landed on Nix as their quarterback, they had to give him more pass-catchers after trading Jerry Jeudy to the Cleveland Browns in March.

Nix joins a receiver room that includes Mims, Courtland Sutton and Josh Reynolds that will lead Denver's offense in 2024 and beyond.

The Denver Broncos used the 12th pick in the 2024 NFL draft on quarterback Bo Nix, ensuring that the team got the quarterback head coach Sean Payton wanted.

However, based on other teams' reported evaluations, the Broncos might have been able to stay patient and nab him a bit later in the process.

During an appearance on The Ryen Russillo Podcast on Friday, former ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said that he views Nix as a backup and that other teams he spoke to did not see him as a first-round-caliber player.

"What I want to say to this big picture is: I love stories like this. I promise you," McShay said. "I've talked to—let's call it a dozen, maybe a little more, maybe a couple less—but at least 10 guys in the league that are high-ranking evaluators and decision-makers in their organization. Nobody else had a first-round grade on him. I view him as a backup."

McShay continued by saying he believes the Broncos are a strong fit for Nix compared to other landing spots but referred to the selection as an "arrogant pick" by Payton.

"I do think that he's going to wind up being better in Denver than he would've been just about anywhere else in the league as a second-round pick. But my goodness, this is an arrogant pick. This is an arrogant pick."

Nix was the sixth and final quarterback taken in the first round.

He was ranked as the No. 5 QB and the 61st overall player in the draft by Bleacher Report's NFL Scouting Department.

While the Las Vegas Raiders were rumored to be considering a quarterback in the first round at No. 13 overall—one pick behind the Broncos—it's believed they had their sights set on Michael Penix Jr., who ultimately landed with the Atlanta Falcons at No. 8.

The quarterback position for the Denver Broncos has been firmly under the spotlight this offseason as they parted ways with Russell Wilson and traded for Zach Wilson, and they addressed the spot yet again during Thursday's NFL draft.

Denver selected Oregon quarterback Bo Nix at No. 12 overall, and Broncos head coach Sean Payton explained the decision during an appearance on ESPN's Pat McAfee's draft show:

He highlighted how Nix was "first on third downs, first with fewest sacks. The most accurate passer in college football history. First at the end of the half in two-minute. First at the end of the game in two-minute ... Number one, he's extremely smart and he handles his protections."

Payton also highlighted his arm strength and work ethic.

While Nix may have been overshadowed by other QB prospects such as Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, J.J. McCarthy and Michael Penix Jr. at times leading up to the draft, it is impossible to argue with his production.

He was the 2023 Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year with the Ducks and completed 77.4 percent of his passes for 4,508 yards, 45 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Yet he was more than just a pocket passer and accounted for 234 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. The effort came after he ran for 510 yards and 14 touchdowns the previous season for Oregon, which was his first after he transferred from Auburn.

Nix is 24 years old, so it is at least fair to be concerned about his overall upside.

However, he could compete for the starting role right away with the Broncos. Russell Wilson is no longer there, and Zach Wilson has largely failed to live up to the expectations that were placed on him when he entered the league as the No. 2 overall pick in 2021.

Perhaps a change of scenery from the New York Jets to Denver will help Wilson play at a higher level, but it's not as if Nix is competing against Patrick Mahomes or Aaron Rodgers for a starting role.

Payton was effusive in his praise of the Oregon product, who proved he could use his athleticism to escape pressure all while making plenty of throws all over the field at the collegiate level.

If he can replicate that in the NFL, he will be starting in Denver in no time.