Bo Nix

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton provided a positive update on rookie quarterback Bo Nix amid OTAs on Friday.

Payton suggested he has liked what he has seen out of the former Oregon signal-caller thus far, telling reporters:

"It's hard for me to catch you up like on a Netflix series. You guys watched one [episode], and then you missed three, and then you watched one and I'm trying to catch you up. All three of [the quarterbacks] are doing well. Specifically to Bo, he's doing really well. He's picking it up. There's a lot that's going in. He's throwing the ball extremely well."

Denver made the somewhat controversial decision to select Nix with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, making him the sixth quarterback off the board.

After playing three collegiate seasons at Auburn, Nix transferred to Oregon and truly found his footing in head coach Dan Lanning's high-octane offense.

In his fifth and final college season, Nix completed 77.4 percent of his passes for 4,508 yards, 45 touchdowns and three interceptions, resulting in him winning the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year Award and finishing third in Heisman Trophy voting.

While Nix's numbers were off the charts, many questioned how well they would translate to the next level, especially since Nix was one of the oldest quarterbacks in the draft at 24.

However, with age comes experience, as Nix's 61 career starts were the most by a quarterback in college football history.

Taking Nix was a risk the Broncos were willing to take in the wake of releasing veteran quarterback Russell Wilson this offseason and in the midst of an eight-year playoff drought.

Nix is part of a three-person competition for Denver's starting quarterback job with 2023 backup Jarrett Stidham and offseason trade acquisition Zach Wilson, who failed to live up to his status as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft by the New York Jets.

Given that the Broncos don't figure to be Super Bowl or possibly even playoff contenders in 2024 in all likelihood, Nix earning the starting job and showing what he can do as a rookie may be the best possible outcome for the organization.

While offseason workouts are still in the early stages, Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix has already impressed his head coach.

Sean Payton told reporters on Thursday that Nix is "farther along than most would be" in this situation and he's picking up the offense quickly.

Nix was selected with the 12th pick in the 2024 NFL draft last month. He has more experience than most rookie quarterbacks, as he was a five-year starter at the collegiate level. He spent the first three years of his career at Auburn before transferring to Oregon for the last two seasons.

In 2023, Nix set an NCAA record by completing 77.4 percent of his passes. He threw for 4,508 yards, 45 touchdowns and three interceptions on his way to finishing third in the voting for the Heisman Trophy.

Nix is competing with veteran quarterback Jarrett Stidham and former New York Jets No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson for the starting quarterback job with the Broncos. It sounds like the rookie is off to a good start.

Bo Nix divulged this week that legendary Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway texted him after the Broncos selected him in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft.

Speaking to ESPN's Jeff Legwold, Nix said the following about one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time reaching out to him:

"That was a cool text for sure, made my dad a little mad, I think, because that was his favorite growing up so he was a little jealous. That was awesome and it was kind of like, 'Wow is this really happening?' But when you're in a special city like that where everybody supports, you know, the next generation, so that's one thing I took from that."

Nix had more starts than any quarterback in FBS college football history, and he saved his best play for last, as he completed 77.4 percent of his passes for 4,508 yards, 45 touchdowns and three interceptions in his final season at Oregon.

Despite his eye-popping numbers, Nix was widely viewed as a borderline first-round pick at best due to concerns about him playing in a gimmicky offense and his age (24) compared to some of the other top quarterbacks in the class.

Nix ended up being the sixth quarterback off the board behind Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, Michael Penix Jr. and J.J. McCarthy, but he still went 12th overall to the Broncos, which was much higher than most experts anticipated.

Although there are major question marks about him as a prospect, he has a chance to start from Day 1 if he can beat out Zach Wilson and Jarrett Stidham, which is likely the outcome most Broncos fans are hoping for.

The Broncos have a rich history of greatness at the quarterback position with Elway and Peyton Manning being the prime examples, but Denver has quickly churned through starting quarterbacks since Manning's retirement, including Trevor Siemian, Case Keenum, Joe Flacco, Drew Lock, Teddy Bridgewater and Russell Wilson.

Elway remains the standard bearer in Denver, as he spent his entire 16-year career with the Broncos, reached the Super Bowl five times and won two of them.

He was also responsible for bringing Manning to Denver as general manager, which led directly to the Broncos' third Super Bowl win.

Elway knows what it takes to succeed in Denver, and having the Hall of Famer on his side could provide a significant confidence boost to Nix.

Regardless of how Elway feels about Nix and the decision to draft him, there will be pressure on the young signal-caller to hit the ground running after the Broncos invested premium draft capital to get him.

Sean Payton couldn't have been expecting this.

A year after ending his retirement to become head coach of the Denver Broncos, he's being tasked with leading the team through a rebuilding season with a rookie quarterback.

The Broncos are a team in transition after the release of veteran quarterback Russell Wilson just two years after acquiring him and signing him to a five-year, $245 million contract extension. While Wilson signed a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver is still on the hook for his $37.8 million salary in 2024.

After parting ways with Wilson, the Broncos drafted Oregon quarterback Bo Nix with the No. 12 pick in the 2024 draft. The team also acquired Zach Wilson from the New York Jets. Denver is hoping that Payton's presence will help accelerate Nix's development and the team's timeline to return to contention.

Here's a look at the slate the Broncos will be facing as they embark on a rebuild.

2024 Denver Broncos Schedule

Full schedule information available on the team's official website.

Analysis

Luckily for the Broncos, their schedule isn't too tough this year, at least on paper. Denver's strength of schedule for the 2024 season ranks 20th in the NFL based on last season's winning percentage. The team will be facing just five squads that made the playoffs last season.

This can allow the Broncos to breathe a sigh of relief as they address some key questions remaining this offseason, the most important of which surround the team's starting quarterback position. Payton indicated after the first round of the 2024 draft that Nix and Wilson will be in an open competition along with sixth-year signal-caller Jarrett Stidham, who played three games last season and threw for 456 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Nix isn't a typical rookie quarterback, as he was a five-year starter in college. He spent three years at Auburn before transferring to Oregon in 2022. He placed third in the voting for the Heisman Trophy in 2023 after throwing for 4,508 yards, 45 touchdowns and just three interceptions. His 77.4 completion percentage set a new NCAA record.

Unfortunately, parting ways with Russell Wilson wasn't the only loss for the Broncos this offseason. Denver also traded wide receiver Jerry Jeudy to the Cleveland Browns and released two-time Pro Bowl safety Justin Simmons as well as veteran linebacker Josey Jewell, who ranked second on the team in tackles in each of the last two seasons.

The Broncos didn't do much to replace those losses, opting for minor signings and building through the draft. To make matters worse, veteran wide receiver Courtland Sutton appears to be disgruntled with his contract after skipping the team's voluntary workouts.

All of this makes for a less-than-ideal situation for a rookie quarterback, but Nix has what it takes to lead the team to success under Payton's guidance.

Pivotal Matchups

The football gods have incredible comedic timing, as the Steelers will be visiting the Broncos this season, putting Russell Wilson in front of the crowd at Mile High Stadium in an opposing uniform less than a year after he was unceremoniously benched and replaced by Stidham.

While the fans are sure to make their feelings heard, Wilson will also be motivated to put on a dominant performance against the team and coach that kicked him to the curb. If Nix wins the starting job, he will face immense pressure to outdo his predecessor.

Residing in the same division as the back-to-back Super Bowl champions presents a bit of a roadblock for Denver, but the rest of the AFC West isn't what it used to be.

The Broncos snapped a 16-game losing streak to the Kansas City Chiefs last season, so it can be expected that Patrick Mahomes and company will be out for revenge. The Chiefs kept their Super Bowl core together by signing star tight end Travis Kelce and defensive tackle Chris Jones to new deals, so they are in good shape to chase a historic three-peat.

However, the Los Angeles Chargers are also a team in transition under new head coach Jim Harbaugh. The team lost a slew of players to cap casualties this offseason, so the matchups against Denver could go either way. The same goes for the Las Vegas Raiders, who failed to land their quarterback of the future in the draft and are entering their first full year under head coach Antonio Pierce.

Outside of the AFC West, things get a little more difficult for the Broncos. They will be facing each of the teams that joined the Chiefs in the top four in total defense in 2023 with matchups against the Cleveland Browns, New York Jets and Carolina Panthers.

There will also be tough battles against the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals, both of whom are hungry after experiencing varying degrees of disappointment last season. A resurgent Atlanta Falcons team, led by the newly-signed Kirk Cousins, also will not be an easy out.

Payton will certainly have his hands full as he tries to lead the rebuilding Broncos through the upcoming season.

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton is making sure that rookie quarterback Bo Nix knows that he's not the only record-setting signal-caller in rookie mini camp.

Nix may be a rookie, but he joins the Broncos after a college career that saw him make 61 starts, an NCAA record. Despite this, a different Broncos rookie does have some accolades on him, as undrafted rookie John Matocha is college football's all-time touchdown leader with 162 passing scores and 29 rushing touchdowns.

Payton used this to "have fun" with Nix and said that he was looking for Matocha following practice.

"I went into the quarterback meeting and I was just having fun with Bo and I said I want to talk to the quarterback that's got 160 touchdown passes and he rushed for 30 -- 190 total,'' Payton said, per ESPN's Jeff Legwold. "So we Wikipediaed him.''

Matocha's marks came after a four-year career with Division II Colorado School of Mines, where he helped lead the Orediggers to two consecutive national championship appearances.

Nix does have Matocha in career passing yards, as he has 15,352 career yards to Matocha's 15,006. He was also the signal-caller the Broncos used a first-round pick on and will likely be tasked with executing Payton's offense in the very near future.

The Denver Broncos have signed quarterback Bo Nix to his rookie contract, the team announced Friday.

His rookie deal will be fully guaranteed and worth $18.6 million over four years.

Denver selected Nix, a former Oregon star, with the 12th overall choice in the NFL draft. He enjoyed a phenomenal final season with the Ducks, completing 77.4 percent of his passes for 4,508 yards (9.6 yards per attempt), 45 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He also rushed for 234 yards and six more scores.

The Broncos hope Nix can finally end the quarterback carousel that's gone down since Peyton Manning retired after the 2015 season.

He should be the team's starter going into the 2024 campaign as the Broncos look to improve off an 8-9 season that began disastrously (1-5, including a 70-20 loss to the Miami Dolphins) but ended with promise (7-4, including a five-game winning streak).

At the very least, offensive guru (and head coach) Sean Payton has his hand-picked quarterback to work with and mold as he tries to bring the Broncos back to the playoffs after an eight-year stretch on the outside looking in. We'll see how it all develops soon enough, but Nix is the man now in Denver as the Broncos open the book on a new era.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning doesn't have a high opinion of NFL draft analysts in the wake of criticism about Bo Nix being a first-round pick and Troy Franklin falling to the fourth round.

Speaking to Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette, Lanning used "weathermen" as a comparison for draft analysts.

"I kind of think those draft analysts are kind of like weathermen," Lanning said. "They don't have to be right. … Who cares what they think? It's about what kind of career he's going to have."

The Ducks stars had two very different experiences in the 2024 NFL draft, even though they wound up in the same place. Nix was selected with the No. 12 overall pick by the Denver Broncos. Franklin, who was regarded as a first-round prospect by some analysts, fell to the Broncos in the fourth round.

Lanning, who noted the Broncos "got a steal" by trading up for Franklin, addressed some of the things he heard about why the standout receiver went much later than expected.

"I heard so many things about the guy doesn't love football," Lanning said. "I mean, the guy practices his tail off like football was what he was made for. That's what he does. He's an extremely intelligent player who is very smart and works hard to be really good."

The main concern for Franklin in B/R's scouting report was about his size:

"He's a tall, lanky receiver, which means he often struggles to sink his hips and explode out on certain routes like curls, comebacks and digs," Derrik Klassen wrote. "Franklin's skinny frame is also part of why his ability to win the ball in the air can be inconsistent against nastier cornerbacks."

Franklin's pre-draft weight of 176 pounds put him in the fifth percentile of all wide receivers. His hand size of 8.75 inches ranks in the ninth percentile. He did fare better in some of the athletic testing with a time of 4.41 seconds in the 40-yard dash (82nd percentile) and 39-inch vertical jump (85th percentile).

Lanning believes Nix and Franklin staying together in the NFL will benefit both players:

"I think chemistry between a wideout and quarterback is so important and it's real hard to kind of get in rhythm with it just because of the time constraints of coaching nowadays. That makes it hard, so I think it will be an awesome connection for those two, no doubt. … Those guys have played a lot of football together. … Troy always was Bo's insurance blanket, where he always felt that if he could get the ball to Troy, he's going to have a chance to win."

The Ducks head coach praised Nix's "intelligence" as one of his top attributes, as well as his "competitive spirit" and "work ethic" as he moves into the NFL.

B/R's NFL scouting department was mixed on Denver's draft class overall, giving it a C+ grade. Nix's selection was the primary reason for the grade, as he was the No. 61 overall player on the big board.

Given the Broncos' need at quarterback and who was still on the board when their turn came up, it wasn't a surprise to see them go for Nix.

Maybe Broncos head coach Sean Payton will be proven right for believing in Nix as much as he did Patrick Mahomes in the 2017 draft. Having a receiver who he already has an established connection with on the team should help him.