Broncos QB Room Ranked by National Publication: 'Quite the Conundrum'

"The Broncos have found themselves in quite the conundrum as training camp approaches."

May 23, 2024; Englewood, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham (8) and quarterback Bo Nix (10) during organized team activities at Centura Health Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports / Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Broncos' quarterback room continues to be the subject of scrutiny as the NFL summer marches on. Just a few days after ex-NFL quarterback Jordan Palmer complimented Denver's QB room, the unit was bashed by Bleacher Report.

With Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham, and Zach Wilson crossing swords later this month, B/R's Ryan Fowler ranked Denver's quarterback situation as the fifth-worst in the NFL. Here's how he rationalized it.

"The Broncos spent the No. 12 overall pick on Bo Nix, who figures to take over as their QB1 sooner than later. The Broncos split first-team reps between Nix, returnee Jarrett Stidham and the newly acquired Zach Wilson during OTAs, but the job looks like Nix's to lose this summer.

"While Nix looks to be the guy for the short and long term, the Broncos have found themselves in quite the conundrum as training camp approaches. Three quarterbacks, one spot to start, each signal-caller with questions in abundance towards their overall performance ceiling," Fowler writes.

It's July 1. The Broncos news pickings are slim.

Fowler didn't really justify his ranking by making any qualifying statement about any of Denver's three quarterbacks — only saying that there are "questions in abundance," although he didn't really sketch out what the overwhelming volume of queries might be.

Nix was viewed nationally as a second-round-caliber quarterback whom the Broncos "reached" on by drafting him at No. 12 overall. Even though Sean Payton scoffs at such takes, dismissing them as opinions espoused by people who "don't know what they're talking about," that's the national perception of Nix.

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Take Nix's national media profile and compound it with the reputation of a career journeyman with four NFL starts and a former No. 2 overall pick who may as well have the word BUST tattooed on his forehead, and it's easy to understand the lemming nature of the ubiquitous offseason lists.

Few of these writers, including Fowler, drill deeper than that surface level read of the situation in Denver. They don't actually watch Nix's Oregon tape, nor do they examine the advanced analytics and other metrics that portray the Broncos first-rounder's true wherewithal as a quarterback.

And even fewer seem to recognize the uncanny scheme fit Nix has with Payton. To perceive such things would require actual time being spent researching the subject. These cats can't be bothered with that; they have a quota to meet.

At the risk of only further encouraging the proliferation of NFL media's frenzied offseason list bonanza, I'm writing this up. If it weren't July 1, I wouldn't bother. But for what it's worth, here's what Palmer, who's spent a lot of time with Nix before he was drafted, said recently about the Broncos' QB room.

"I think, quietly, the Denver Broncos have just built one of the best young quarterback rooms in the league, paired with one of the best offensive minds we've seen since I've been paying attention," Palmer said.

That's an analyst who knows his subject matter. They say a true expert in one's field can predict the future to a certain degree. Palmer knows what he's talking about, and he was right about C.J. Stroud a year ago.

Time will tell whether his read on Nix comes out in the wash as accurately as it did with Stroud and the Houston Texans last year.

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