Getty Head Coach Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos.
The link between the Denver Broncos and one of the top quarterback prospects is only growing stronger as the 2024 draft draws closer.
Denver currently rosters Jarrett Stidham – who previously garnered support that Head Coach Sean Payton walked back a bit at the owners meeting in Orlando – and Ben DiNucci. Their interest in the incoming class is clear in their efforts to fact-find during the pre-draft process.
It could be a driving factor in their emergence as betting favorites to land Oregon’s Bo Nix.
“The Broncos are listed as -120 favorites to be the team that drafts Nix, via FanDuel,” Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith wrote on April 13. “They’re far and away the betting favorites to be the team to take Nix.
“The Raiders and Giants have the next-best odds to draft Nix, both at +700, followed by the Vikings at +950, Saints at +1500 and Seahawks at +1600.”
Bo Nix isn’t the same kid who would run around at Auburn frantically
Certainly a different QB
Some of his tape doesn’t translate to NFL bc it’s so RPO heavy/ball at LOS heavy but plenty of his tape and game does
Nix completed an FBS record 77.4% of his passes last season for 4,508 yards with 45 touchdowns and three interceptions.
One of the older passers in the class, his stint at Auburn has left doubt about his ceiling.
Broncos Could Solve QB Quandary in Draft With Bo Nix
GettyQuarterback Bo Nix #10 of the Oregon Ducks.
“Rare five-year starting quarterback whose play has matured in front of our eyes,” NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein wrote. “Nix displays the accuracy, arm talent and athleticism consistent with today’s brand of pro quarterback. He can be punctual in getting the ball out at the top of his drop or he can work through progressions and beat defenses with second-reaction plays.
Zierlein notes Nix’s arm talent and later “good velocity,” two questions some evaluators have had about him at the next level. There are also some questions about his true ability since he only broke out once at Oregon.
The Ducks typically feature high-powered offenses.
“Some of his gaudy production has been driven by the Oregon offense’s design, but his talent clearly stands out,” Zierlein wrote. “I’ve harbored bias from watching the overwhelmed version of Nix during his Auburn days, but as the saying goes, ‘tape don’t lie.’ Nix appears more than ready to attack the league with an NFL-caliber skill set.”
Zierlein is not alone. ESPN’s Field Yates argued specifically for the Broncos to select Nix with the No. 12 overall pick. This is despite Yates ranking Nix as his No. 37 overall prospect.
“This is a player who thieves off accuracy and processing. Those are staples of a Sean Payton-led offense,” Yates said on “SportsCenter” on April 3. “I think this is one of those where the opportunity cost for Denver is too good to pass up on taking a quarterback.”
The Broncos’ lack of a second-round pick in the draft partly informed Yates’ call.
Bo Nix Not Invited to NFL Draft
GettyQuarterback Bo Nix of the Oregon Ducks.
Nix has humbly welcomed lofty comparisons to former New Orleans Saints quarterback and Sean Payton-protege Drew Brees.
“When someone compares me to Drew Brees, it’s like I mean come on. What are we doing? That’s … one of the greats out there,” Nix said on the “RG3 and The Ones” podcast on April 4. “I’ll take it. Yeah, if you want to compare me to Drew Brees. Now, I got a lot to do and a lot to learn, a lot to play for. But that comparison is very respectful.”
Perhaps, then, he can take solace in joining Brees as a non-attendee to the draft.
“The NFL will have 13 incoming players at the draft. Not many more than that were invited,” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio wrote on April 12. “The league wanted to keep it to no more than 15. The goal, per a source with knowledge of the situation, was to ensure that no one lingers too long in the green room in Detroit.
“Toward that end, neither quarterback Bo Nix nor quarterback Michael Penix, Jr. was invited. The league didn’t have either, we’re told, on the projected list of the top 15 to 20 picks.”
Florio notes that Penix is a favorite to land with the Raiders at No. 13 overall.
Not everyone is convinced that Nix is the answer. The Denver Post’s Troy Renck wrote on April 6 that he considers Nix a “fringe starter.” Broncos brass must decide which end of the projection spectrum they believe Nix falls on, or at least closer to.