With the 12th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos selected Oregon QB Bo Nix. A flurry of quarterbacks were taken early in the first round, with Nix being the sixth one taken.
Many mock drafts in recent weeks had the Broncos selecting a quarterback. The biggest question was when and who. In the end, the Broncos resisted the urge to trade up in the draft, and drafted Nix when he landed in their lap at 12.
Nix and his family watched the draft from home. When his phone started ringing with a 303 area code, Nix's face immediately lit up. According to Nix, he was so excited that he was almost speechless when the Broncos called him.
“It means a lot. I can’t thank them enough for taking me, and for putting their beliefs in me,” Nix said via conference call. “Like I said, there’s a lot in the future that’s going to need to be done—a lot of work to be done, a lot of growing and a lot of getting better. I just appreciate the value that they had in me.”
Prior to the draft, the Broncos thoroughly did their homework on Nix. Nix had multiple interviews and throwing sessions with the Broncos. According to Nix, he was able to build a good connection with head coach Sean Payton and the other Broncos coaches.
“I had great meetings with them. Between meetings and workouts, throwing, all that good stuff, I was able to build a great connection with them,” said Nix. “I always loved being around the coaches and the guys making the decisions and all that kind of thing. I was just very excited, almost speechless when I got that call. I’m just very excited, very happy to be a Bronco.”
Bo Nix stood out to the Broncos
According to Adam Schefter, the Broncos held a private workout with Bo Nix the day after his pro day. The night before his workout, the Broncos sent Nix three packets of an offensive play installation. The next morning Nix apparently “crushed it” while working on the plays with the Broncos in the classroom. The Broncos then took him from the classroom to the field, had him throw for an hour, and they were convinced they found the quarterback they wanted to draft.
“We got there at 9 a.m. and we gave him the test at 5 p.m. [the previous night],” Payton said. “He’s sitting there in the office, and you could tell that he probably had been in the hotel room, do not disturb, pot of coffee, just grinding on it. So he’s extremely intelligent, really smart.”
Oregon's offense closely resembles a pro-style, NFL offense. While Nix was graded in the middle of the pack of the other quarterback prospects, he set NCAA records and led the class in multiple categories.
“Early into the process, shortly after these workouts, he stood out in a lot of areas,” Payton said. “You pay close attention to all the film study and obviously he’s played a lot of football, but sack differential, turnover differential, accuracy, third-down passing, first, first, first, first in his class, first in end of half, first in end-of-game two-minute situations, second in red zone.”
Nix will compete for the Broncos starting quarterback spot with Zach Wilson and Jarrett Stidham.
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