Heading into the 2024 draft, arguably no team was more closely tied to the quarterback position than the Denver Broncos. The team was fresh off releasing Russell Wilson from his abomination of a contract, and the Broncos were in desperate need of a fresh face at quarterback. With their selection of Bo Nix in the first round, the Broncos found themselves a perfect fit with Sean Payton.
In Nix and Payton, the Broncos have a firm understanding of where their future is. The Broncos have their quarterback picture figured out, thanks to the 2024 draft class, but the same cannot be said for other teams that took quarterbacks that year. For one team in particular, it seems as though they made the worst quarterback selection in recent memory, thanks in large part to Payton.
Very publicly, Payton asserted that the Broncos draft team tricked the Vikings into taking JJ McCarthy at 10th overall, two selections before Nix went to Denver. In their almost two seasons since, these quarterbacks could not be on different trajectories. Payton was absolutely right in picking Nix over McCarthy, and the results on the field show it.
Sean Payton looks like a genius after JJ McCarthy's serious struggles so far in 2025
Shortly after Payton’s public assertion of trying to check the Vikings into selecting McCarthy, he faced a good deal of public pushback and criticism. As the Broncos struggled through the first few weeks of Nix’s career while McCarthy sat on the sidelines injured, the criticism of Payton only got louder. Even after their success last year, not everyone was sold that the Broncos made the right choice.
As the 2025 season has carried on, it is now painfully obvious that the Broncos made the right choice. Not only does the team have its man in Nix, but the situation in Minnesota is also becoming increasingly dire. Simply put, a benching of McCarthy isn’t out of the question in the coming weeks. If McCarthy gets benched down the stretch, his future with the Vikings gets put in serious jeopardy.
On the surface level, it’s hard to see how these two quarterbacks have much to do with each other aside from their draft class. Considering where they went in those classes and the tie that Sean Payton made between the two, the selections of each will be tied together throughout their careers. A little over a season and a half in, the Broncos and Payton are out to an incredible lead.