Sean Payton can't hide his joy after Bo Nix's dominant display at Broncos training camp

Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix may have all but cemented his status as the Week 1 starter for the team after his steady offseason progress catapulted into a huge day at Broncos training camp.

Nix was running with the 1st-team offense as the Broncos had their third padded practice in a row, and so far, the order of quarterbacks running with the starters has been Nix, Jarrett Stidham, and then Nix again on Wednesday.

Sean Payton noted that we would likely see a difference in the way the quarterbacks were getting reps after the team had a day off on Sunday, and he made good on his word. Nix has been with the starters for two of the first three padded practices, which is certainly something to read into at this point, and he just had an absolutely outstanding practice.

Sean Payton can barely contain his excitement after Bo Nix's great practice

Nix was aggressive from the early portion of training camp, completing a number of throws downfield and being decisive with the football. He had a connection with veteran Josh Reynolds for a huge gain. Nix had another throw to Courtland Sutton during practice to beat zone coverage in which he completed a pass behind Damarri Mathis and in front of safety Devon Key, who was reacting late.

After practice, Sean Payton was effusive in his praise of wide receiver Josh Reynolds, stating that Reynolds "jumped out" (no pun intended, that we know of) with three or four huge plays on the day. When asked about Nix, it was clear that Payton was trying to keep it cool as he has been keeping the optics up of a true competition for the starting job.

Instead of gushing about Nix's performance, Payton notes that they were working on third down plays, that they need to go back and look at the tape, and that he's "looking at so much."

He did concede at the end of this clip: "I like his progress."

Nix has been everything the Broncos hoped for in the pre-draft process, Payton especially. This practice is coming right on the heels of a comment Payton made to NFL Network about telling owner Greg Penner to mark his words that this rookie class is one they are going to look back on as being a reason they were able to accomplish something significant.

Broncos Country has been burned by plenty of failed quarterbacks in the past. There is, of course, the technicality of John Elway not being drafted by the Broncos, so this team has effectively never drafted and developed a quarterback in-house before. Sean Payton has never drafted a first-round quarterback before.

The excitement is obviously justified based on what we're all seeing, but it's important for Payton to pump the brakes at the podium, because we need to see Nix do the right thing in actual game settings.

For now, however, the Pac 12 Offensive Player of the Year is infusing a jolt of optimism into all of Broncos Country.