ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The future has arrived for the Denver Broncos.
On Wednesday, Sean Payton informed Bo Nix he has won the quarterback competition and will be the Broncos’ starting quarterback for Week 1 of the regular season.
The 24-year-old rookie had been the clear favorite to land the team’s starting job from the moment the Broncos used the 12th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft on him. However, after Jarrett Stidham was very impressive in OTAs and mandatory minicamp in the spring, the possibility grew that the veteran could start the season while the rookie developed.
During the first week of training camp, Stidham once again was clearly the Broncos’ best quarterback on the roster. But it all started to click for Nix during the team’s fourth training camp practice.
On the first Saturday practice of training camp, Nix threw his first interception of camp directly to Levi Wallace. However, he bounced back incredibly strong, throwing three touchdowns to finish practice. From that moment on, Nix developed right in front of Payton’s eyes.
Throughout the final three weeks of camp, Nix continued to steadily develop. He had his breakout moment during the Broncos’ first preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Not only did Nix put up an impressive stat line — 15-for-21, 125 yards, one touchdown and a 102.3 passer rating — but he led his team to scores on four of his five drives. The only drive the Broncos didn’t score under Nix was when Lucas Krull fumbled.
From that moment on, it was only a matter of time until Nix was named the team’s Week 1 starting quarterback.
Payton let the competition between Nix, Stidham and Zach Wilson play out one more week, which included the joint practice against the Green Bay Packers and the team’s second preseason game, before making the final call.
And Nix put on an encore in the second preseason game against the Packers, going 8-for-9 for 80 yards and a touchdown.
In roughly three quarters of football in the preseason, Nix went 23-for-30 for 205 passing yards, two touchdowns and a 116.4 passer rating. He scored on every preseason possession, outside of Krull’s fumble.
After starting a record 61 games in college, at Auburn and Oregon, Nix was viewed as an NFL-ready prospect. He proved that to his coaches and teammates in Denver in just under four months.
During his final year at Oregon, Nix set an FBS completion percentage record, connecting on 77.4 percent of his passes. To go along with that, he passed for 4,508 yards, 45 touchdowns and only three interceptions.
Despite that, he was the sixth quarterback drafted in April as Oregon’s offensive scheme was held against him. Payton, however, was confident that Nix is much more than just a product of the dynamic offense in Eugene.
Since the beginning of his freshman year of high school, Nix has started every single football game that he’s been healthy to play. Outside of the preseason, Nix will carry that streak over into the NFL as the Broncos’ Week 1 starter in Seattle against the Seahawks.
Now that the Broncos’ starting quarterback competition has been settled, a new competition has emerged. After impressive training camps from both Stidham and Wilson, the two will have one final preseason game to compete for the team’s backup quarterback spot.
Payton admitted earlier in training camp it’s possible the team keeps all three quarterbacks.
One thing that’s not up for debate any longer is the future has arrived in Denver. Bo Nix is officially the Denver Broncos’ starting quarterback.
