Category: Broncos Buzz

Broncos select EDGE Jonah Elliss in 3rd round of NFL draft

Edge rusher Jonah Elliss joins an elite group of Broncos pass rushers

The Denver Broncos used the 76th overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft to select edge rusher Jonah Elliss from the University of Utah on Friday night.

Elliss (6-3, 232 pounds) was a three-year player for the Utes, where he played 30 games. Elliss finished his collegiate career with 16.0 sacks, 23 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles.

In 2023, Elliss was a Consensus All-American, when he had his best season. In the Pac-12’s final year, Elliss contributed with 12 sacks, 16 tackles for loss, 37 total tackles (23 solo, 14 assisted), three defensed passes and one forced fumble.

Elliss was rated the 58th best prospect on Draft Wire’s top 200 players by Jeff Risdon.

Football runs in Elliss’ family. His brother Kaden played at Idaho and is now a member of the Atlanta Falcons. His other brothers Christian and Noah signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, with Christian also appearing in games with the New England Patriots. Elliss’ father, Luther Elliss was the team chaplain for the 2015 Denver Broncos, when the team won their third championship.

The pick was announced by Broncos legend and former tight end Tony Scheffler.

Next pick: Round 4, 121st overall

Watch new Broncos QB Bo Nix’s introductory press conference

New Broncos quarterback Bo Nix held an introductory press conference at the team’s facility on Friday.

After being picked by the Denver Broncos in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft on Thursday night, quarterback Bo Nix held an introductory press conference at the team’s Centura Health Training Center.

You can watch the quarterback’s 22-minute press conference in the below video, courtesy of the team’s official YouTube page.

Nix joins the team as a 24-year-old rookie after playing five years in college. He is expected to compete with Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson for the starting quarterback job this summer.

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Why didn’t the Broncos trade down to draft Bo Nix later?

Many draft pundits thought the Broncos could trade down and still draft Bo Nix, so why didn’t Denver attempt it?

Going into the 2024 NFL draft, many pundits believed the Denver Broncos could trade down from the 12th overall pick and still land Oregon quarterback Bo Nix later in the first round (or perhaps even in the second round).

When draft night arrived, however, the Broncos stood pat and picked Nix at No. 12, a selection that many national pundits viewed as a reach. So why didn’t Denver trade down if Nix was the target?

Speaking after the first round on Thursday night, Broncos coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton both addressed that topic.

“We considered moving back, but once [Michael] Penix went, it got a little stressful there at the end,” Paton explained. “We had the Raiders behind us, so we just didn’t want to overthink it. This was our guy, and we were going to take our guy. We did think about it, but not too far.

“We could have moved a couple picks back and maybe have gotten some picks, but at the end of the day, this was our guy. Let’s just take him. Let’s not overthink this. We would have been sick if we lost him just for a couple of fifth-round picks.”

Five quarterbacks had already been picked when Denver went on the clock, including Penix. Las Vegas, another QB-needy team, picked right behind the Broncos, so moving down would have been a risky decision.

“Oftentimes, you hear this, ‘Well, if they don’t get one here, they can go back and get this one,'” Payton said. “I heard those same comments — when the Chiefs selected Patrick [Mahomes] and you go back and tune into everything, it was said, ‘Well, they could have got him later.’ No, they couldn’t have.”

Payton knows firsthand that the Chiefs could not have waited for Mahomes because the New Orleans Saints planned to pick the QB at No. 11 in 2017. Then Kansas City moved up to pick Mahomes at No. 10. Had the Chiefs listened to the notion that “you can get him later,” Mahomes would have been a Saint.

The Broncos did not want to risk a similar scenario with Nix. If the team moved back, there was no guarantee he would still be on the board when Denver went back on the clock.

“Let’s not worry about — and we all understand managing the draft, but let’s worry about what it’s going to look like three years from now,” Payton said. “Three to four years from now, this class will be judged. Make sure we get the right guy there [at No. 12].”

KOA Radio reported that Denver had Nix ranked as the third-best quarterback on their board behind Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams. Nix was “their guy,” and it would have been too big of a risk to trade down while hoping he fell to a later pick. The Broncos set out to get their QB and they made it happen at No. 12.

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POLL: What grade do you give the Broncos for drafting Bo Nix?

What grade would you give the Broncos for drafting quarterback Bo Nix at No. 12?

The Denver Broncos stayed put at pick No. 12 in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft on Thursday night to select Oregon quarterback Bo Nix.

The Broncos now have their new franchise quarterback (and a new catchphrase), but some fans and pundits have been critical of the pick. There was thought going into the draft that Denver could trade down from pick No. 12 and still select Nix later in the first round.

Broncos coach Sean Payton pushed back on that notion on Thursday night.

‘[W]hen the Chiefs selected Patrick [Mahomes] and you go back and tune into everything, it was said, ‘Well, they could have got him later.’ No, they couldn’t have,” Payton said. The coach knows that firsthand because the New Orleans Saints were going to take Mahomes at No. 11, but Kansas City jumped above them in a trade to get Mahomes at No. 10.

The consensus in 2017 was that the Chiefs could wait for Mahomes, but the consensus was wrong. We’ll never know if Nix would have been available later, but after five quarterbacks went off the board early, there was certainly no guarantee. (The Las Vegas Raiders, who picked right after the Broncos, would have been a top candidate to draft Nix if Denver passed on him.)

So with that context in mind, how would you grade the Broncos selecting Nix? Let us know your take by voting in the poll below!

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Ex-college teammate Alex Forsyth raved to Broncos about Bo Nix

Former Oregon center Alex Forsyth raved to Broncos coaches about Bo Nix, telling them the QB ‘had the universal respect of the entire team.’

Bo Nix is no Bo Callahan.

Unlike the fictional “Draft Day” quarterback who didn’t have any teammates show up to his birthday party, Bo Nix seems to be beloved by his teammates.

One of those teammates, center Alex Forsyth, started 12 games at Oregon in 2022 before being picked by the Broncos in the seventh round of last year’s NFL draft. Leading up to this year’s draft, Forsyth gave Denver’s staff a glowing review about his old teammate.

Forsyth “raved to Denver’s coaches about his former college quarterback,” according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

The center “told the Broncos coaches that Nix is smart, knows every protection, handles it all at the line of scrimmage, and had the universal respect of the entire team.”

Nix is now set to compete with Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson for the starting quarterback job this summer. Meanwhile, Forsyth is expected to compete with veteran Sam Mustipher for the starting center job.

Now reunited as teammates in the NFL, perhaps Forsyth and Nix will one day start together again someday down the road.

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Bo Nix aced his pre-draft meeting with the Broncos

The Broncos gave Bo Nix three packets of offensive play installation to study at his pro day and the QB “crushed” his test the next morning.

The Denver Broncos gave quarterback Bo Nix extensive homework at Oregon’s pro day last month. Broncos coach Sean Payton handed Nix “three packets of offensive play installation” to study ahead of his meeting with Denver’s staff the next day, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

In the classroom the next morning, Nix “crushed it,” according to Schefter. The QB then went out on the field for a private workout for the Broncos and continued to impress. Six weeks later, Denver picked Nix in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft.

After making the pick official on Thursday night, Broncos coach Sean Payton went on Pat McAfee’s draft show and recalled the QB’s studious work to prep for his meeting with the team.

“I don’t know what time he got to the office, but I felt like he was in a hotel room with a “Do not disturb” sign on [the door with a] coffee, the whole thing. … He’s super intelligent,” Payton told McAfee.

That late-night study appears to have paid off because Payton was clearly impressed with the quarterback. Nix is now set to compete with Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson for the starting QB job this summer.

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Sean Payton feels as strongly about Bo Nix as he did about Patrick Mahomes

Broncos coach Sean Payton “feels as strongly about Bo Nix as he did [Patrick] Mahomes” in 2017, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Seven years ago, Sean Payton and the New Orleans Saints were prepared to select Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes with the 11th overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft.

Before the Saints went on the clock, the Kansas City Chiefs traded up to pick No. 10, jumping above New Orleans.

“We were picking at 11, Andy [Reid] went to 10,” Payton recalled in 2021. “And as soon as that trade took place we knew it was Mahomes.”

The Saints pivoted and picked cornerback Marshon Lattimore after KC moved up. Fast forward a few years (and three Super Bowl titles for Mahomes) later and Payton is now coaching the Denver Broncos.

Payton stayed put at No. 12 in the first round of Thursday’s NFL draft and he picked Oregon quarterback Bo Nix. After the Broncos made that pick, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted that Payton “feels as strongly about Bo Nix as he did Mahomes.”

This obviously does not mean Nix will become “the next Patrick Mahomes,” but it’s a good sign that Payton is so confident in the QB prospect, the same way he was confident in Mahomes as a prospect in 2017.

Nix will make his debut for the Broncos during preseason in August.

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Report: Broncos had Bo Nix ranked as QB3 on their draft board

The Broncos had Bo Nix as the third-best quarterback on their big board behind Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels, according to KOA Radio.

There was plenty of buzz about the Denver Broncos being enamored with Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy leading up to the 2024 NFL draft. It seems that was merely a smokescreen.

The Broncos had Oregon quarterback Bo Nix ranked as “QB3” on their big board behind LSU’s Jayden Daniels and USC’s Caleb Williams, according to a report from Benjamin Allbright of KOA Radio.

Nix ended up being the sixth quarterback taken in the first round, behind Williams (No. 1), Daniels (No. 2), Drake Maye (No. 3), Michael Penix (No. 8) and McCarthy (No. 10). Despite being overlooked by five other QB-needy teams, Nix was Denver’s target from the beginning.

Nix had been Broncos coach Sean Payton’s top choice “for weeks,” according to KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis.

After releasing quarterback Russell Wilson last month, Denver now has its quarterback of the future in Nix. The rookie quarterback is now presumably set to compete with Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson this summer. A new era begins now for the Broncos.

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Check out these highlights of new Broncos QB Bo Nix

The Broncos have their quarterback of the future! Check out Bo Nix’s highlights here.

The Denver Broncos made a first-round pick in the NFL draft for the first time since 2021 on Thursday night, selecting Oregon quarterback Bo Nix 12th overall.

Nix was a three-year starter at Auburn, before transferring to the University of Oregon for two seasons. Nix finished third in the 2023 Heisman Trophy voting, after a season of career highs.

In 2023, Nix passed for 4,508 yards, 45 touchdowns and three interceptions with a 77.4 percent completion percentage.

In two seasons with the Ducks, he had almost as many completions as he did in three seasons with the Tigers (628 at Auburn, 658 at Oregon).

Check out his highlights below:

Nix joins a quarterback room that recently added former first-round draft pick Zach Wilson in the past week.

Nix was the sixth quarterback selected in the first round (as of publication),  behind Michael Penix Jr, Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels and J.J. McCarthy, which ties an NFL record. The number of quarterbacks ties the famous 1983 NFL draft, when former Broncos quarterback and future Hall of Famer John Elway was taken first overall.

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