Denver Broncos' head coach Sean Payton seemed to be oozing confidence with the team's QB process, and that confidence was absolutely warranted. During the NFL Combine, Payton spoke about the QB evaluation process and truly seemed to think that the Denver Broncos had something cooking behind the scenes:
Sean Payton is quite confident in the Broncos' QB evaluation process.
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) February 28, 2024
“Sometimes it’s not as difficult as we make it out to be. And sometimes it’s very difficult.
“I think we’ll be really good at this and I think to some degree we’re glad that a lot of people aren’t.” pic.twitter.com/M3kJu8sHQP
Sean Payton was right again!
The last part of this quote really tells me that Sean Payton 100% knew what QB he wanted at that point and knew he was going to work out. The confidence oozing from Payton in this clip wasn't just fluff - the Broncos had an eye on Bo Nix and wanted to get him. They didn't do anything goofy with their 12th overall pick and took him right there when many people thought he could be had at a lower slot.
The first two weeks of the 2024 NFL Season did not yield great results, but no rookie QB is good in their first two games; that's just not now the NFL works. Denver won 10 of their final 15 games after that 0-2 start this year, and in those games, Bo Nix threw 29 touchdown passes and just eight interceptions in what could be an Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign.
Some have been rubbed the wrong way by Payton for what they believe is arrogance, but the various events that have popped up regarding Payton during his Broncos' tenure have been proven true. The infamous USA Today interview where Payton bashed the New York Jets proved to be correct.
His decision to cut Russell Wilson, while unpopular, was 100% the right move, and his decision to take Bo Nix when many people thought he was not a first-round QB proved to be the right move as well. When are people going to learn that Sean Payton is probably going to be right most of the time?
Payton and the Broncos are going to be wrong with certain things here and there - that's just how the world works, but he hit this QB evaluation out of the park. Denver has now totally turned the direction of their franchise around for the long-term and won double-digit games and made the postseason for the first time since 2015.
It's a new day in Broncos Country, and the old-school, no-nonsense, Bill Parcells disciple Sean Payton is cooking with gas for the Denver Broncos. The next big challenge for the franchise is figuring out how to load up and surround Bo Nix and this roster with as much talent as possible.