Broncos Legend Addresses Fans' Nagging Bo Nix Fear After OTAs

This is a concern every Denver Broncos fan has with OTAs in the books.

Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix dons his helmet at rookie minicamp. / Ben Swanson/Denver Broncos

Former Denver Broncos Super Bowl champion offensive guard Mark Schlereth has never held back when it comes to expressing his opinions about his old team's ongoing quarterback conundrum. Now that Bo Nix is knee-deep in a three-way battle for the starting job in Denver, credible voices like Schlereth splitting hairs over which way head coach Sean Payton will go might consume much of the six-week summer.

Schlereth unveiled his latest hypothesis on the latest episode of his Stinkin' Truth Podcast.

"If Bo Nix isn't your starter, then did you miss on Bo Nix?" Schlereth said. "Everything they said coming out of the draft was, 'Bo Nix started 61 games, has a supercomputer as a processor, is incredibly accurate, was the best college red-zone QB in the nation, had the best completion percentage, [and] never fumbled while at Oregon.'" 

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Reading between the lines, Schlereth is saying that it would be pointless to draft Nix at No. 12 overall if you don't plan on playing him. On the flip side, bringing Nix along more incrementally has been suggested by some, but not by the outspoken Schlereth.

The ongoing eight-year playoff drought has undoubtedly changed the landscape greatly for the Broncos, especially as it relates to how the team's top brass might approach the crucial development of its rookie first-rounder. While it's possible Denver might take a kid-gloves approach with Nix — starting Jarrett Stidham for the bulk of the season wouldn't appeal to most fans — and the blowback would likely be toxic.

In the meantime, context is everything. It's far too early to draw any meaningful conclusions about what we've seen so far. The Broncos' focus has been to accentuate all the positive factors, and when it comes to the mistakes Nix is bound to make as a rookie, roll with the punches.

A particularly interesting not was a recent insider report claiming that "almost all media observers" had Stidham as the clear winner of the offseason training program among the quarterbacks. Certainly, Coach Payton sounds intent on keeping an open mind when it comes to Stidham's performance.

"He's doing well. Clearly, within the framework within what we're doing, he is much further along than in Year 1 in the transition," Payton said, speaking to Stidham's experience in the scheme. "I'd say he's looked really sharp during this offseason program. [He is] real decisive. I think the leadership he is able to provide there, and there's good competition." 

The Stidham buzz could be true, but you couldn't blame Payton if he were more focused on getting Nix game experience, even if the veteran incumbent is modestly better in training camp. Gaining valuable live-bullet reps isn't going to happen if Nix holds a clipboard most of the time, but the Broncos have maintained that his record-breaking 61 starts in college suggests that the rookie is NFL-ready.

Schlereth certainly feels that way, and many others do, too, but they don't make the major decisions in the corridors of power at Broncos HQ.

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