The Broncos added their preferred Russell Wilson successor in the first round of the 2024 draft. Bo Nix is positioned to see plenty of time at the helm of Denver’s offense over the course of his rookie contract, but that may not mean he sees the field right away this year. 
The decision to move on from Wilson (along with more recent one to waive Ben DiNucci) has left Denver with three signal-callers. Nix is joined by offseason trade acquisition Zach Wilson and returnee Jarrett Stidham. The latter is the only one with experience working under head coach Sean Payton.
A report from earlier this month confirmed, to no surprise, that Stidham is expected to open OTAs with the Broncos’ first-team offense. The 27-year-old started two games last year after Wilson’s benching, and he will have the opportunity to earn the Week 1 starting gig depending on how Nix and Wilson are evaluated over the course of the summer. Payton recently confirmed those two passers will receive plenty of looks as well, though.
“We’ll figure it out,” the former Saints Super Bowl winner said during minicamp about a QB rotation once training camp begins in July (via ESPN’s Jeff Legwold). “With young guys, the reps are important. But we’ll have a rotation, and we’ll go from there.”
Wilson struggled mightily during his time with the Jets. The 2021 second overall pick was slated for backup duties in 2023, but Aaron Rodgers‘ Achilles tear thrust him back into starting action. Wilson did not progress compared to his previous campaigns, and New York dealt him to Denver as part of a Day 3 pick swap. One year remains on his rookie contract, with the Broncos footing half of the bill per the terms of the trade.
Of course, most of the attention at Broncos’ camp will be aimed at Nix. The Auburn and Oregon product made a record-breaking 61 starts during his time in college, and he is likely much closer to his NFL ceiling than many of the five other passers selected within the draft’s opening 12 picks. Payton and Co. were frequently connected to Nix in the pre-draft process, and the Broncos had him ranked as their third-best QB prospect.
Given the team’s struggles in finding a true Peyton Manning replacement, the Broncos will be satisfied with any of their in-house options taking charge in the upcoming quarterback competition over the short term. It will be interesting to see how Nix stacks up against Stidham and Wilson, and how quickly he is handed the reins depending on their respective performances.
“Competition” lol
I laugh every time I see Sean Payton’s name qualified with “Super Bowl winner”. He’s hilariously overrated
So is your opinion.
Oh burn!
I think Bo Nix was a reach at 12, BUT I also think he’s a great fit for Payton’s offense and has a high enough floor that I can see the logic. He’ll make less in four years than Daniel Jones makes in eight games. If he can even play like a middle of the pack QB, that’s huge value, even if the upside is limited.
Needs to learn under a vet. Blows my mind broncos haven’t called Tannehill yet
I mean, they have Stidham and Nix is the most experienced quarterback in college football history. I’d be more worried with some of the other guys.
I never was impressed with Tannehill. Might as well ride what we have and hope for the best. I never had a lot of faith in Stidman either, however, he has a year under his belt with Sean, so maybe he’ll play a little faster and make better decisions? Nix is our long term. Wilson? Well, he has played a lot. Maybe Sean can help him clean up his game? Lots of questions.
@DynamicDave —I should rephrase. I think Nix can be longterm guy. His arm is incredible I don’t think it was talked about enough. He played in a cluster of different offenses too. I just think Tannehill would have been a solid vet to sign. Stidham isn’t bad either but that whole QB is very young. The oldest vet(Stidham) was drafted in 2019 lol
Nix wasn’t a 3rd choice by Sean. Payton said himself, that Bo was always their guy.
Agreed. If Nix wasn’t, Sean would have said so.
LOL! I agree, nowhere in the history of the NFL has a GM or coach ever said “We didn’t really want Joe Brady, but he was the best of some ugly alternatives.”
This year is not about competing. It is about ridding themselves of the Russell Wilson mistake.
As a Jets fan, my friendly advice would be to start anyone but Zach Wilson. I don’t want to be mean, but dude is not an NFL first stringer and maybe not even second. He has the tools, the arm and the legs, but no poise, no ability/confidence to throw downfield, and he looks like he’s scrambling as soon as he takes two steps back from the snap.
Start Nix and let him have his chance. Worst case scenario is that he performa like Zach Wilson would.
IMO, of course.
No the broncos should start Zach Wilson and once they secure the #1 overall pick in the 2025 draft give Bo Nix an audition. And he’s either the guy or they have their choice at QB in 2025.
Best case scenario Nix is a franchise guy and they can trade out of #1 for picks and build up the roster.
So you think that even if the Broncos were to get the #1 pick next year that they would have it secured in time for Nix to prove he is a franchise quarterback? You do realize that the draft order is still up in the air in week 18
You can have it secured by week 13 with Zach Wilson as your qb. Leaves 5 game audition to see what Nix has.
But all season Nix is practicing and showing coaches he can either play the position or not. Can make the throws necessary to be successful or not. He understands the playbook or not. They’ll get a sense of him even if hes riding the pine. No sense in throwing him out there immediately. Let Zach Wilson do what Zach Wilson does best and let Nix develop a little.
There’s no way any team has the #1 pick sewn up after 12 games. Denver isn’t that bad of a team, with or without Wilson
Seahawks
Steelers
Bucs
Jets
Raiders
Chargers
Saints
Panthers
Ravens
Chiefs
Falcons
Raiders
Browns
Colts
Chargers
Bengals
Chiefs
They could easily be 2-8 their first 10 games beating out Panthers and Raiders with Wilson as QB.
They could be 1-6 the final 7 games maybe 2-5
Their schedule isn’t easy this year and they could have it secured by week 13 considering back half of their schedule is murders row.
List New England’s and Carolina’s schedule and tell me they have guaranteed wins. I’m not arguing that Denver is good, I’m arguing that some other teams are just as bad if not worse. I don’t believe anyone has had the #1 pick locked up after 12 games
I agree. It was the same with the Bears and Fields. If he played well, they’d win. If he played poorly, they would draft high. Win/win.
And same with my Raiders. I’m fine with giving AOC a shot. I think he can play, but if he can’t, we’ll be in position for a good pick. The Broncos should play the long game here.
Yeah, he makes me nervous, too, but hopefully Sean and his staff can clean up his game? Stidham worries me and I don’t know enough about Bo yet, to form an opinion.
Just imho, and I am not a fan of Wilson, but the NYJ offense and offensive play calling left a lot to be desired.
Tough times to be a Broncos’ fan. Settled & overpaid for their 2nd QB choice; wanted Aaron over Russ. Then settled & overpaid for their 3rd HC consideration; D Ryans, & Harbaugh were 1-2, followed by Sean coming in 3rd. Then settled for a career backup at 12 this year. OUCH!!!
I’ll wait on giving a complete evaluation of Bo for a spell. Remember, Tom Brady was selected in what, the 6th Round? 199th pick. I’ll give the kid a chance. Hopefully, he’ll be better than Zack and Stidham.
You didn’t even know who Tom was when he was drafted, not did anyone else. Who was drafted this year at QB in the 6th /7th round?
Not sure how brimming w/confidence I’d be w/Stidham as your goto #1 QB going into training camp, especially w/only challengers being someone else’s failed reach @franchise QB n rookie who many think was drafted too early w/12th pick. We’ll see if Payton has any QB guru magic left. Adding a more seasoned vet QB could help speed up the learning curve.
Bo would have been gone if Denver didn’t take him. The Raiders would have snatched him up. I agree about Zach and Stidham. Not exactly instilling a lot of confidence with those two.
True, but does that mean that Denver needed him? Regardless of what we think of Nix as an individual prospect, Denver used the 12th overall pick on him. Are we sure that he was the player to provide the best value there?
I will have to trust that Bo is exactly what Sean wanted. Guess we’ll know for sure once he actually hits the field. Elway struggled his 1st year. They benched him so they wouldn’t ruin him. Who knows for sure what Bo brings to the table? But I’m willing to wait and find out.
That’s the move, no matter what happens. What’s done is done at this point.
I think that Paton did what he could with the lower picks in the draft, though. Sutton will likely be go e next year, and Bolles will too, so gathering ammunition for replacements will be helpful in what figures to maybe be an even more crucial draft for Denver next year.
Adam, I know that a lot of people do this today and you are certainly not alone, but when you’re using three examples, you should use “last” instead of “latter”. It’s confusing because it doesn’t specify which the two are being referenced. I think that most of us know that you meant Stidham because of our football interest, but “latter” is for two examples. Sorry to bug you.
Bring back Gucci Dinucci…