The Denver Broncos have one of the least seasoned quarterback rooms in the NFL.
Jarrett Stidham and Ben DiNucci have five starts with a combined 1-4 record, leaving much to be desired in their respective backgrounds.
Despite efforts to add names such as Sam Darnold (Minnesota Vikings) in free agency and Sam Howell (Seattle Seahawks) through trade, the Broncos are effectively left with two question marks at the position and few enticing veteran choices.
This is where reaching for a prospect like Bo Nix in the 2024 draft might make sense.
“The clock is ticking for the Broncos to address the quarterback room,” said ESPN’s Field Yates on April 3. “With four quarterbacks off the board, the Broncos need to act quickly. They don’t have a second-round pick this year, making it harder to rise up the draft board. So they’re picking my QB5, despite him being the No. 37 prospect on my board.”
That quarterback is Oregon’s Bo Nix, a popular projected target for Denver who has praised Head Coach Sean Payton and the parallels between the Broncos and Ducks attacks.
“Nix’s accuracy and processing speed would appeal to coach Sean Payton, as he finished his college career by completing 77.4% of his passes in 2023 — an FBS single-season record,” Yates noted in an email. “His tape was impressive to watch.”
Yates would press down on his warning to the Broncos.
Field Yates: ‘Opportunity Cost Too Good’ for Broncos to Pass on Bo Nix.
He linked it directly to a possible choice to place Nix in a slot well above most forecasts. Nix has primarily been predicted as a second-round pick.
“This is a gamer that exploits accuracy and processing. “Those are hallmarks of a Sean Payton-led offense,” Yates remarked on “SportsCenter” on April 3. “They definitely need to add one more arm there. As a reminder, they do not choose in the second round due to the trade that awarded the New Orleans Saints their second-round pick in exchange for Sean Payton. So I believe this is one of those situations where the opportunity cost for Denver is too high to pass up on acquiring a quarterback.”
According to Yates’ mock, the top of the selection will proceed as expected, with the Chicago Bears picking Caleb Williams first overall, followed by Jayden Daniels to the Washington Commanders at second and Drake Maye to the New England Patriots at third.
After mocking wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. of the Arizona Cardinals, it’s back to quarterbacks.
According to Yates’ mock, the Vikings would trade with the Los Angeles Chargers for the No. 5 overall pick in order to draft J.J McCarthy.
That’s four quarterbacks in five rounds, with Nix and Michael Penix Jr., who led the runner-up Washington Huskies over McCarthy and the Michigan Wolverines in the National Championship game, still the top options.
Broncos Pass on Championship Game QB in Mock Draft.
Passing up Penix for Nix would be a significant choice for the Broncos. Both guys are older prospects. Nix turned 24 years old in February. He played five seasons in college at Oregon and Auburn, where he was mostly unimpressive.
Penix turns 24 years old in May.
He attended college for six seasons at Washington and Indiana. The latter resulted in him missing four consecutive seasons due to season-ending injuries.
Both prospects have admirers and detractors, with Nix drawing similarities to former Payton quarterback Drew Brees. Nix has agreed that the comparisons are somewhat lofty. However, this speaks much about his skill set in comparison to Penix, who is more of a vertical passer.
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