Former QB connected to Sean Payton thinks this rookie passer could excel in Denver

Luke McCown, who played with the New Orleans Saints from 2013-2016, recently indicated that a certain QB in the 2024 NFL Draft class could excel in Sean Payton's offense. I think when these types of players speak out, it's worth listening to. While McCown was a career backup and not at all close to being a starter in the NFL, he was still in NFL circles for a while.

He also spent four years at the end of his career with Sean Payton and Drew Brees in New Orleans. You can't get closer to that offense than where McCown was as a backup. Well, McCown recently said that Michael Penix Jr could excel in Sean Payton's offense:

"“I can see it 100%,” Luke McCown, who played 2013-16 in New Orleans as part of a 13-year career, told The Post. “I think (Penix) would thrive in the play-action and downfield stuff that Sean likes. He did a lot of it, just from the gun, in Washington: A lot of the same concepts with the high pylon and the deep cross, deep over routes and all these different things that you saw Sean do for years in New Orleans.”"

- Luke McCown / Parker Gabriel

Well, there you have it. At this point, there is virtually no chance that the Denver Broncos can come away with Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, or Drake Maye in the 2024 NFL Draft, and JJ McCarthy seems increasingly unlikely, too. The next crop of passers that might be in realistic range for the Broncos are Bo Nix from Oregon and Penix from Washington.

Both QBs, like any other prospect in the history of sports, have their pros and cons. However, there's been more talk of Bo Nix + Denver than there has been Penix + Denver. I believe that Bo Nix would be a near-perfect fit for Sean Payton, and even though Nix isn't the most talented prospect in the 2024 NFL QB class, the fit is what trumps the pure talent.

Penix is definitely a more talented athlete and thrower than Nix, so perhaps McCown is on to something. Michael Penix Jr feels like he's consistently been ranked lower than Bo Nix in big-board rankings, but maybe Payton is also keeping tabs on the Washington passer as well. At the end of the day, I am not going to get worked up with whatever QB Payton chooses. He knows what he wants for his offense, point-blank-period.