Bo Nix Dismisses Broncos Listing Him as QB3: 'I Couldn't Care Less'

Bo Nix sent a message from the podium on Wednesday relative to where he currently sits on the depth chart.

Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix. / Ben Swanson/Denver Broncos

On Tuesday, the Denver Broncos unveiled their first unofficial depth chart of 2024. There's a heavy emphasis on unofficial.

Broncos head coach Sean Payton spoke to the NFL-mandated first depth chart after Tuesday's practice, dismissing the notion of there being much meaning in how it was arranged. No rookie was seated higher than the third team on this unofficial depth chart.

That includes rookie first-rounder Bo Nix, who has played as well as incumbent veteran quarterback Jarrett Stidham, and even better at times, for much of training camp. Nix has been palpably better and more consistent than veteran Zach Wilson.

And yet, it was Stidham listed as QB1 and Wilson as QB2. Following Wednesday's practice, Nix was asked to react to his placement as the third-team quarterback.

"I couldn't care less," Nix said. When pressed again, he had a slight grin on his face as he reiterated, "I couldn't care less."

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Nix doesn't care where he checks in on the depth chart right now, with 100% of the preseason left to go. What matters to him is how the depth chart reads Week 1 heading into Seattle.

As Payton explained on Tuesday, the Broncos aren't ready for a depth chart because many of the key position battles have yet to be decided. After all, the preseason games always account for a good chunk of the arithmetic that goes into calculating depth-chart supremacy.

“No. I’m not ready for a depth chart, but I have to get a depth chart," Payton said. "It’s easy to push the underlined players [rookies] to the back of the line and then make sure it’s kind of where we sit right now. That’s really it... I’m not trying to send messages at all.”

One would be more inclined to doubt Payton's words, and perhaps even read into Nix's third-team status on the depth chart, if, indeed, not every rookie was stuck there, too. That's the message Payton was sending. Not to his players, but to the media and fans.

Payton may as well have said, "TAKE THIS DEPTH CHART WITH A GRAIN OF SALT."

Nix is still garnering a good chunk of the first-team reps at practice. Whether he's running with the ones, twos, or threes, he gives it his all, never letting up off the gas because the coaches are always watching, and the eye in the sky sees all.

"I better, or I'm not gonna be running with the ones anymore," Nix said of giving as much intensity and focus to his third-team reps as he would with the starters. "Every day, you've got to be consistent, no matter what group you're going with. Go out there and do your best and make sure you're operating at a high level."

Nix has been a quarterback his whole life. He understands the demands of the job.

One of them? Everyone's looking at you, and your coaches and teammates are looking to you as a leader. Don't make them ever doubt your wherewithal in that department.

"Yeah, no matter if you're in the cafeteria or if you're in the training room, a quarterback's job is to be a leader at all times and get everybody going in the right direction," Nix said. "It starts off the field, and when you get on the field, make sure your operation, your huddle, whatever group you're going with looks the best."

Nix's first chance to really play for all of Broncos Country will be on Sunday in preseason Game 1 vs. the Indianapolis Colts. Stidham is sure to get the start and majority (if not all) of the first-team reps.

How Nix acquits himself on Sunday could dictate whether Payton gives him the egalitarian privelege of starting preseason Game 2. That's when I expect Payton to announce a decision. Following Game 2.

But it could go all the way down to the wire if Wilson actually elevates his game, and gives the coaches a reason to delay the decision. He had become an afterthought, almost, relinquishing a good chunk of his first-team reps to the rookie, before bouncing back modestly this week, starting with Monday's practice.

Stay tuned.

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