Broncos First-Round QB Bo Nix Talks Sean Payton Expectations in Year 1

Bo Nix can't wait to get with his new teammates and compete.

Oct 21, 2023; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Bo Nix (10) leaves the field after a win / Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Denver Broncos GM George Paton said it a week ago: Bo Nix "was our guy." The 2024 NFL draft board fell in a fortuitous way for the Broncos, plopping the record-setting quarterback right in their lap at No. 12 overall.

The Broncos didn't think twice. Nix was always going to be the pick if he was there at No. 12.

The Broncos don't draft QBs in the first round too often, unlike many of their peers around the NFL who seem to dip back into the well every few yers. As just the fifth quarterback to be drafted in the first round by Denver in the past half-century, Nix arrives with some outside expectations.

But there are some internal ones, too. Namely, what Nix's head coach, Sean Payton, demands of his QB1. The rookie QB stands ready to meet them.

"Just from what I know about his offense, it's all about efficiency," Nix said via the team website. "And he wants a quarterback that can get the ball where it needs to go, on time, over and over and over. It's always making the right decision. I'm excited to learn and go back over all my preparation just to get ready for what's next."

The Las Vegas Raiders were right behind the Broncos at No. 13, waiting to pounce on Nix, and we've since learned that Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams were likely to take Oregon's star quarterback if he was still on the board at No. 19. Sure, the Broncos had offers to trade back, but whatever compensation the team may have gotten in return wasn't worth the risk of seeing Nix's name get called by another team.

"We could have moved a couple picks back and maybe have gotten some picks, but at the end of the day, this was our guy," Paton said following Round 1. "Let’s just take him. Let’s not overthink this. We would have been sick if we lost him just for a couple of fifth-round picks.”

Payton saw a perfect fit for his system in the "battle-tested" Nix. And when he sized him up in person for the first time, Payton was taken aback somewhat by the quarterback's size.

"I was surprised at how big he was. He was a little bit taller than 6-foot-2, close to 220 pounds," Payton said a week ago.

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The MMQB's Albert Breer provided further insight into the impression Nix's size made on Payton and Paton when the Broncos worked him out privately back in March. And those 10-1/8-inch hands, which must be like gripping a bunch of bananas in a handshake, made it clear to the Broncos why Nix never fumbled at Oregon.

Lost amid the din of the internal and external expectations is how Nix feels about the subject. As a rookie, he's feeling the warm and fuzzies of being christened Denver's quarterback of the future, but he knows none of that can come to fruition if he doesn't take care of business and out-compete his rivals for the starting job.

Like every great quarterback that has come before him in the Mile High City, Nix gets a little bit weird and perhaps a tad maniacal when it comes to competition. His mindset entering his first NFL summer as a pro?

"Just compete. I think if I come in with that mindset and just be the best I can be and compete, it'll not only make me better, but make the team better—in whatever way that that is," Nix said. "I'm just excited to meet all the guys. I'm excited to be on this team. I can't wait to just jump right in and be a part of it."

Soon. The Broncos will host rookie minicamp early this month. Before cleats hit the grass for that minicamp, there is the small matter of deciding which jersey number Nix will wear.

Just days before the Broncos selected him in the first round, Nix's No. 10 college jersey number was handed out to newcomer Zach Wilson. Wilson wore the No. 2 in New York, but that's a number owned and operated by Pro Bowl cornerback Patrick Surtain II in Denver.

Perhaps Nix and Wilson can strike a deal for No. 10. However, the pickings are slim when it comes to available jersey numbers under 20. Two of the numbers currently not spoken for are sacrosanct and retired — No. 7 and No. 18.

That leaves only the No. 16 available to be assigned to Nix. That is, unless the Broncos either take it from Wilson and give it to Nix, or the two QBs come to terms on a trade.

Following his intro presser, Nix stood at the podium at Broncos HQ with the No. 1 jersey, signifying that he was the team's first-round pick in 2024. While there are rumors that cornerback Tremon Smith may have switched jersey numbers, which would make the No. 1, there has been no confirmation from the Broncos.

Nix might be able to talk No. 1 out of Smith's hands, if the veteran DB is willing to part with it.
What do you like more? The thought of Nix wearing No. 16 or No. 10?

With the Broncos rolling out their new uniform designs just days before the draft, fans are champing at the bit to go out and buy a Nix jersey. Get

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