The Denver Broncos have their next franchise quarterback. Sean Payton and the Broncos took Oregon Ducks star QB Bo Nix in Thursday’s 2024 NFL Draft.
Denver Broncos draft Ducks star QB Bo Nix
Bo Nix is a Denver Bronco. The Oregon Ducks signal-caller is headed to the Broncos after being selected 12th overall. He’ll now get the chance to work with Sean Payton as the Broncos look to build a team around him in their quest to compete inside the AFC West.
Nix was a Heisman candidate in the 2023 college football season, throwing for 4500 yards and 45 touchdowns compared to just three interceptions. He’s a high-level processor who can be a three-level thrower at the NFL level.
One thing that Payton wants for his offense is efficiency in the huddle, somebody who quickly diagnoses pre-snap and can get the ball out of his hands quickly. Nix does all of those things and will be asked to do that and even more this upcoming season.
Nix met with the Broncos several times throughout the predraft process including a private workout that ended up cementing Payton’s love for him.
“I had great meetings with them,” Nix said. “Between meetings and workouts, throwing, all that good stuff, I was able to build a great connection with them. I always loved being around the coaches and the guys making the decisions and all that kind of thing. I was just very excited, almost speechless when I got that call. I’m just very excited, very happy to be a Bronco.”
With the selection of Nix, the Broncos now have four quarterbacks on their roster featuring him, Jarrett Stidham, Ben DiNucci, and Zach Wilson, who the team just traded for earlier this week.
There will be plenty of competition throughout the room, but Nix is the envisioned future of the team. As it stands, the Broncos rookie QB will have Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, Marvin Mims, and Josh Reynolds as his primary pass catchers at the receiver position.
One question facing Nix as he transitions into the NFL is how having various coordinators throughout his college career can help him as he embarks on being the guy in Denver.
“I’ve been able to learn a lot, and I’ve been given a lot of information, and I’ve had to put it to use,” Nix said on his experiences in college. “I feel like that prepared me at a high level, and I feel like my experience has been really good for me to where now in this situation, I’ll be able to learn and grow as time goes on as we go into camps and get into practice. I just feel really confident in myself that I’ll be able to pick it up, ask good questions, be very intentional and enjoy the process.”
Ideally, the Broncos also have their offensive line locked in for the most part except for center, where it’s expected that Alex Forsyth will start for Denver this upcoming season.
The good news is that Forsyth and Nix have a lot of chemistry and familiarity together, dating back to their time at Oregon as the team’s quarterback/center duo.
Will the Broncos find their wings with Nix? Sean Payton and George Paton believe so.
