Report: Broncos will meet with two elite Pac-12 QBs at combine

The Denver Broncos are about to make Russell Wilson their ex but maybe their next quarterback will have an X?

According to 9 News Insider and 104.3 the Fan Contributor the Broncos will meet with Oregon’s Bo Nix and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. on Wednesday. Klis says they’ll also meet with Tulane’s Michael Pratt later in the week. This all happening in Indianapolis at this week’s NFL Scouting Combine.

Denver is slated to pick No. 12 in this year’s draft but even the team’s general manager George Paton has admitted it would be challenging to move up a significant amount to get their guy—meaning, whichever QB falls to them might be the one they take. Many think the Broncos will take a quarterback to replace Wilson given the team’s limited cap space. It’ll give second-year head coach Sean Payton his guy to build around for the future. Both Nix and Penix have been mocked to Denver at times but pundits don’t really have a consensus on what range they’ll get selected.

Meanwhile, Payton was extremely confident in his quarterback evaluation skills on Tuesday. The coach said he thinks Denver’s group is pretty good at this while others around the league aren’t, something that’s good for the Broncos. Payton went on further to explain what the team will look for in a gunslinger. With Nix and Michagan’s J.J. McCarthy most matching what Payton laid out. Denver met with McCarthy on Tuesday night.

McCarthy beat Penix in the championship game this winter but the Washington quarterback and Nix both finished higher in the Heisman race. Though, Penix beat Nix for the Pac-12 title.

Penix completed 363 of his 555 passes for 4,903 yards and 36 touchdowns while throwing 11 picks and running for three more touchdowns. Nix completed 364 of his 470 passes for 4,508 yards, 45 touchdowns while throwing just three interceptions and running for 234 more yards and six rushing touchdowns.

The last time Denver went with a quarterback in the first round was Paxton Lynch in 2016.