How Sean Payton's QB Legacy Will Elevate Broncos' Purportedly 'Talentless Roster'

Sports Illustrated's Matt Verderame called the Denver Broncos roster "talentless."

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton and rookie quarterback Bo Nix. / Ben Swanson/Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton has a golden track record with quarterbacks, dating all the way back to the miracles he worked with Kerry Collins while offensive coordinator of the New York Giants circa 2000-02. As Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks coach, Payton even managed to extract a 10-6 season from Quincy Carter as his starter in 2003.

The pressure is on Payton once again to flex his QB-whisperer muscles in the wake of the Broncos' tectonic decision to release Russell Wilson. Denver went back to the well, drafting a first-round quarterback in Oregon's Bo Nix at pick No. 12 overall.

Nix's fit with Payton was obvious from the beginning of the 2024 pre-draft cycle, but only time will tell how much hay the venerated offensive-minded coach can make with the former Heisman Trophy finalist. When it comes to fit, Sports Illustrated's Matt Verderame seems to be buying what the Broncos are selling, ranking Payton/Nix No. 18 on his top coach/quarterback NFL rankings, while slamming the roster as "talentless."

The Broncos end up reasonably high on this list because of Payton’s accomplishments, but this might be his toughest assignment. Denver is in a complete rebuild thanks to the Russell Wilson release, leaving it with $85 million of dead money over the next two years. Enter Nix, the 12th pick who will start on a talentless roster, provided he beats out Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson.

- Matt Verderame

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A "talentless roster" is a bit much. But all hyperbole aside, the Broncos' roster is far from ideal. There are holes, mostly on defense, but the key question is what caliber of talent Denver has surrounded Nix with.

Courtland Sutton will eventually come back to the campfire. There aren't many WR1s better than Sutton when it comes to touchdown production, especially of the traditional possession receiver variety.

Throw in a hungry, motivated veteran in Tim Patrick, the second-year Marvin Mims Jr. — who earned dual Pro Bowl/All-Pro honors as a rookie returner — as well as incumbents Lil'Jordan Humphrey (a long-time Payton guy) and Brandon Johnson, and Nix was always going to start on solid footing.

But Payton didn't rest on those laurels, utilizing Denver's draft war chest to build the nest around his first-round quarterback. The Broncos drafted Nix's No. 1 target at Oregon in Troy Franklin, as well as Utah's Devaughn Vele.

May 23, 2024; Englewood, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) passes to wide receiver Troy Franklin (16) during organized team activities at Centura Health Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports / Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

If tight end Greg Dulcich manages to overcome his problematic hamstring injury and returns to even 60% availability this season, the Broncos' pass-catching arsenal will be loaded for bear on this hunt. The uninspiring but reliable Adam Trautman returned to Denver this year, and don't sleep on Lucas Krull, who seems to be a Payton favorite already and could leapfrog Dulcich as the team's top receiving tight end, even if the former UCLA product remains healthy.

They say a quarterback's best friend is the running game, and while the Broncos have some horses in the ball-carrying stable, a prolific ground attack starts with the big uglies up front. Outside of center, the Broncos' starting offensive line is returning with Garett Bolles and Mike McGlinchey as the tackles, and Ben Powers and Quinn Meinerz as the guards.

There will be an open competition at center, but it just so happens that Denver drafted Nix's 2022 center last year — Alex Forsyth — whom Payton seems to have been grooming to take over as his starter from the drop. The Forsyth era at center is expected to begin in 2024, with a familiar face to snap the ball to in Nix calling the signals.

I don't see a "talentless" offense. It might be lacking in proven playmakers at the moment — outside of Sutton — but the right quarterback in a Payton offense that's firing on all cylinders tends to be like a tide that raises all the ships around him. Detractors will say what they want to about Nix, but he's a 'point guard on the grass' and is perfectly suited to Payton's scheme. He'll get the ball to where it needs to go.

Javonte Williams is poised to explode back onto the NFL scene after a middling first year back from his multi-ligament knee injury in 2023. Being nearly two years (in real time) removed from that injury — by the time the 2024 regular season rolls around — his confidence and strength could be fully restored, which is bad news for would-be tacklers.

Williams is complemented by fellow veteran Samaje Perine, and big power back with soft hands to catch one pass after another out of the backfield and the pop to pick up blitzers on third down. Young twitchy speedsters like Jaleel McLaughlin, Tyler Badie, and the undrafted rookie Blake Watson offer Payton and Nix and versatile stable of running backs.

Where's the big dearth of talent? I don't see it.

Feb 7, 2010; Miami, FL, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) talks with head coach Sean Payton before Super Bowl XLIV against Indianapolis Colts at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

There's no doubting Payton's chops when it comes to quarterbacks. Beyond the success he had with Collins in New York, Payton can also take credit for the emergence and early development of Tony Romo in Dallas. Romo went undrafted in 2003, but under Payton's development as his position coach in Dallas, he began to blossom.

In 2006, Payton left Dallas to become the head coach of the New Orleans Saints. That same year, Romo would go on to usurp Drew Bledsoe as Dallas' starter and never looked back.

Payton then took a very wounded Drew Brees and breathed life back into his listing career. Brees had earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2004 after the then-San Diego Chargers had drafted Eli Manning No. 1 overall, only to trade him to the Giants for Philip Rivers, who'd been taken at No. 4 overall by New York.

Brees suffered a grievous career-threatening injury to his throwing shoulder the following year in the Chargers' 2005 season finale vs. the Broncos. That made it easy for the Chargers to let Brees hit the bricks in free agency and officially usher in the Rivers era.

Brees' free-agent tour in the spring of 2006 was hardly a romping affair. Only two teams expressed interest in him, fearing that shoulder injury: the Saints and Miami Dolphins.

When the Dolphins signed Dante Culpepper, Brees was left with just one option to dance with, and Payton couldn't have been happier for Miami's historically-bad decision. Convinced that Brees' injured shoulder would recover, Payton's Saints signed him, and the results were immediate.

Brees earned Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors in his first year with Payton in New Orleans. Three years later, the coach/QB duo would lead the Saints to a victory over Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Brees would go on to build a future Hall-of-Fame career under Payton's guidance. And toward the end of Brees' tenure, when Father Time caused him to start missing games, Payton extracted blood from the quarterback stones that were Teddy Bridgewater, Taysom Hill, Trevor Siemian, and Jameis Winston.

In Payton's first year in Denver, despite the toxic way that things ended, he still managed to coach a regressing-by-the-minute Wilson to significant improvements over his 2022 body of work. Wilson's touchdown-to-interception ratio improved from 16-to-11 in Year 1 with the Broncos to 26-to-8 in his one-and-only go-round with Payton.

Were it not for Wilson's penchant for holding onto the ball too long, taking sacks, and fumbling 10 times, there's a good chance that Payton finishes his first year in Denver (with a "talentless roster") with 10 or 11 wins instead of the eight he produced. Payton also snapped Denver's ignominious 16-game losing streak to the Kansas City Chiefs in Year 1, getting that monkey off the franchise's back.

Now, Nix gets to benefit from Payton's wellspring of experience and his quarterback heritage. As a former NFL quarterback himself, Payton knows how the sausage gets made, and together with Nix, the coach/QB duo could go on to barbecue up some tasty displays in the not-too-distant future.

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