Report: Bo Nix was always the plan for Broncos and Sean Payton

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton has always loved Bo Nix.

That’s what ESPN’s Adam Schefter told us moments after the Broncos picked Nix at No. 12 overall this past spring. And on Monday, Schefter doubled down on that assertion after Nix wowed in his preseason debut against the Indianapolis Colts.

Nix finished 15-21 for 125 yards and a touchdown. Denver scored on four of the five possessions Nix was in, getting two TDs and two field goals. The only time they didn’t score wasn’t Nix’s fault, as tight end Lucas Krull fumbled. The rookie QB also had three carries for 17 yards.

Schefter said on ESPN’s NFL Live that this is what Payton envisioned all along.

“Bo Nix was the guy that Sean Payton was after the whole time.” @AdamSchefter said that the Broncos QB1 position is Bo Nix's to lose 🤝 pic.twitter.com/09TMKjxNZ4

— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) August 12, 2024

“It wasn’t like they were sitting at No. 12 and all these quarterbacks went in front of them and then they felt like ‘oh let’s go settle in on Bo Nix.’ Bo Nix was the guy that Sean Payton was after the whole time,” Schefter said.

Payton himself even said after the draft that Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy was a smokescreen in Denver. They were happy he ended up with the Vikings, clearing the way for the Broncos to pick Nix. That’s what Schefter’s also been told.

“This was a guy that essentially the Broncos were hoping was going to get to them. They considered even trading up to secure his services,” Schefter said.

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Schefter concludes that it was always going to be Nix’s job to lose this summer, meaning the starting QB, and it doesn’t look like he’s going to lose it. Especially after his performance against the Colts.

He didn’t flat out say it, but Schefter is hinting at what pretty much all of Broncos Country already knows. Bo Nix will be the starter Week 1 against the Seahawks in Seattle. And that’s how Sean Payton has always envisioned it.