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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