Technically, the Broncos are letting three quarterbacks — Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham, Zach Wilson — compete for the Week 1 starting job. As a practical matter, they’re hoping that the twelfth overall pick in the 2024 draft will win the job.
And so, whenever Broncos coach Sean Payton speaks to reporters, he’ll be asked about Nix’s development. Payton got that question, based on Nix completing six OTA sessions.
“It’s hard for me to catch you up like on a Netflix series,” Payton said. “You guys watched one [episode], and then you missed three, and then you watched one and I’m trying to catch you up. All three of [the quarterbacks] are doing well. Specifically to Bo, he’s doing really well. He’s picking it up. There’s a lot that’s going in. He’s throwing the ball extremely well.”
Picking it up is very good for Nix. Throwing the ball extremely well is even better. He’s making progress, confirming to the Broncos that they got it right — and making them comfortable that he’ll deliver if/when he plays.
To be truly ready to deliver, Nix has to be ready and able to thread the needle into smaller windows. Payton was asked about the adjustment to tighter windows in the NFL.
“I think that you immediately begin to feel the speed difference and the reaction difference and the length,” Payton said. “What was open in college, those windows were bigger. Generally speaking, then you begin to adapt to the timing. One of the things that all of these [do is] get the ball out quick. Holding onto the ball and waiting can sometimes be obviously detrimental. I think it’s the studying and the understanding of the defensive scheme, and then understanding where the windows are in regard to the spacing. I do think that begins the first time you’re out here and everyone is moving around full speed. It’s like, ‘Wow!’ The speed of your simulator just went up a little bit.”
And that’s during offseason workouts that aren’t happening at full speed — or aren’t supposed to be that way. It’ll ramp up during training camp and then, when the Broncos start the season for the second time in three years with a trip to Seattle, with both a different head coach and a different starting quarterback than they took to Seattle in Week 1 of the 2022 season.