NFL fans are teeing off on Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton over his opinion on Bo Nix, whom the team selected with the No. 12 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Denver Broncos were widely expected to take a quarterback with their first-round pick. They were even mentioned as a hot candidate to trade up, but GM George Paton was able to stand pat and get his man anyway.
After the pick was made official, ESPN’s Adam Schefter retold the well-documented story about Payton wanting to select Patrick Mahomes with the No. 11 selection in 2017. But as everyone knows, the Kansas City Chiefs snuck ahead of New Orleans via trade with the Buffalo Bills to select Mahomes with the No. 10 pick.
According to Schefter, the second-year Broncos head coach is as high on Oregon product Bo Nix as he was with Mahomes seven years ago:
“Sean Payton wanted and intended to draft Patrick Mahomes in the 2017 draft, when he held the 11th overall pick. He was ready to turn in the card. But before he could, the Chiefs traded up to the Bills’ spot at No. 10 and took Mahomes one spot before Payton got him, leaving the Saints to draft Ohio State cornerback Marshon Lattimore. Payton feels as strongly about Bo Nix as he did Mahomes.”
Well, let’s just say that football fans aren’t at all buying Payton’s view of Nix:
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It’s easy to laugh at this take now, but only time will tell how the Denver Broncos’ selection of Bo Nix plays out. Remember, Mahomes wasn’t all that highly-touted when the Chiefs selected him. And nobody thought Lamar Jackson would emerge as a top-two QB of the 2018 Draft class (along with Josh Allen).
Denver Broncos Had To Take A Quarterback, And Bo Nix Was The Best Available
Some will say that the Denver Broncos reached for Bo Nix at No. 12 here, but this team had to take a chance on the best-remaining signal-caller.
The Broncos have been held back by lackluster quarterback play since Peyton Manning’s retirement in 2016. Brock Osweiler, Paxton Lynch and Drew Lock went down as busts, and the Russell Wilson trade was obviously a giant flop.
Nix might not start right away in 2024, so Payton could turn to Zach Wilson (acquired via trade with the New York Jets) or veteran Jarrett Stidham to begin the year. The bottom line is that Denver had to take a potential franchise QB in Nix, who just might solve this team’s never-ending search for a long-term answer behind center.
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