Tag: quarterback

Bo Nix says it would be an honor to play for Broncos coach Sean Payton

“I’m never going to argue if I get to play for one of the better coaches of all time,” Bo Nix said of potentially playing for Sean Payton.

The NFL draft will begin on Thursday, April 25, and the uncertainty of who some teams will draft looms large. Although the Denver Broncos just traded for Zach Wilson via the New York Jets, could head coach Sean Payton also aim for Bo Nix?

If so, the NCAA’s single-season completion percentage leader appears to be attractive to the possibility. The former University of Oregon quarterback appeared on the Up And Adams show this week and said “it’d be an honor” to play for Sean Payton and the Broncos, alluding to the HC’s legacy with legendary quarterbacks like Drew Brees.

“I’m never going to argue if I get to play for one of the better coaches of all time,” Nix told Adams.

While Wilson could become Payton’s next rehabilitation project, Nix knows his pedigree from college would make him an intriguing target. We will find out on Thursday evening if Nix joins Wilson in Denver.

Check out the clip of Nix and his comments on Payton below.

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Peyton Manning says Broncos are ‘very interested’ in J.J. McCarthy

“I know Denver is very interested in him,” Peyton Manning said of J.J. McCarthy during an interview on 104.3 The Fan.

Speaking with old teammate Brandon Stokley and 104.3 The Fan co-host Josh Dover on Tuesday, former Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning endorsed the team’s trade for quarterback Zach Wilson.

Manning also might have given a hint about Denver’s draft plans.

Manning recalled a texting mishap he had with Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who thought somebody was pranking him pretending to be Manning. When McCarthy realized it was truly No. 18, the QBs connected and Manning gave some advice to the 21-year-old prospect.

After recounting that phone call with McCarthy, Manning added this: “I know Denver is very interested in him and it sounded like a place he’d love to come to but it’s a little bit out of his control.”

It’s unclear if Manning has inside information or if he’s merely referencing the many reports that the Broncos are believed to be big fans of McCarthy.

Denver is not scheduled to pick until 12th overall in the first round and McCarthy is not expected to fall that far. If the Broncos want to land the Michigan quarterback, they will likely need to trade up. Denver coach Sean Payton has said moving up is a realistic option.

Whether all the buzz was genuine or just a smokescreen remains to be seen, but Manning added fuel to the fire just before the draft.

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Report: NFL teams think Broncos could trade Pat Surtain

The Athletic reports that some NFL teams think the Broncos might be willing to trade CB Pat Surtain in order to trade up for a top QB.

With the start of the 2024 NFL draft just one day away, smokescreen season has kicked into high gear. Everything reported at this time of year should be taken with a grain of salt because it’s hard to gauge what’s real and what’s posturing from teams hoping to influence who falls to them on draft day.

With that said, there have been rumblings for months that the Denver Broncos might attempt to trade up during the draft to land one of the top quarterbacks in this year’s class. Moving up from pick No. 12 into the top five would be costly, and teams moving down will likely ask for Denver’s most valuable trade asset: cornerback Pat Surtain.

Speculation intensified on Wednesday when The Athletic‘s Dianna Russini wrote that “[m]ost teams picking in the top five believe the Broncos could make a big swing with a package that could even include star cornerback and fifth-year option pickup Pat Surtain II and more players on expiring deals if Payton’s true love is there.”

It’s important to note that Russini is reporting what other teams think Denver might be willing to do. She’s not reporting that the Broncos are planning to trade Surtain, but other clubs think such a scenario is a possibility. Indeed, such a scenario is possible, but the suggestion that Surtain could be traded is just speculation at this point.

We’ll find out for sure when the draft begins tomorrow night.

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Peyton Manning endorses Broncos’ trade for Zach Wilson

“I think [this trade] might be just what Zach [Wilson] needs,” Peyton Manning told Denver Sports after the Broncos acquired the QB.

After the Denver Broncos traded for New York Jets backup quarterback Zach Wilson on Tuesday, Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning went on 104.3 The Fan (Denver Sports) to speak with Josh Dover and Brandon Stokley about the move.

“The change of scenario for Zach Wilson, I think, is going to be a good one,” Manning said, via Andrew Mason of DenverSports.com. Manning went on to note that Wilson had two different offensive coordinators in three seasons with the Jets, perhaps hindering his development.

“The best way to really screw a young quarterback up is to change coordinators on him every single year, and it drives me crazy,” Manning said.

Wilson will now have to learn yet another offense after joining Sean Payton’s squad, but Manning believes the “reboot” will be good for the young quarterback.

“I think for Zach, I think a reboot actually is good,” Manning said. “Let’s just sort of start over, right? And let’s just let Sean Payton and his staff coach you and kind of start from ground zero, which I think might be just what Zach needs.”

Manning said he got Wilson’s phone number from the Broncos on Monday and reached out to the quarterback after the trade news broke.

“[I] welcomed him to Denver and was excited with this new chapter. He sounds excited to be here, so hopefully it’ll be a good fit.”

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Steelers planning to pass on fifth-year option for QB Justin Fields

Justin Fields is not expected to get his fifth-year option with Pittsburgh.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Pittsburgh Steelers are not expected to pick up the fifth-year option on newly-acquired quarterback Justin Fields. If the Steelers did this, they would be on the hook for more than $25 million in 2025 just to pay Fields.

Trading for Fields was the second most exciting quarterback addition of the Steelers offseason. After completely gutting the quarterback depth chart, the Steelers went out and signed veteran Russell Wilson to be the starter and then pulled off the trade with the Chicago Bears to land Fields.

This news means all three of the Steelers current quarterbacks are playing out the final years of their contracts in 2024. Some have said this is a prove-it year for Fields but short of a catastrophic injury to Wilson, Fields isn’t likely to see the field. This muddies up his value and future with the team.

Pittsburgh also has until the May 2 deadline to decide about the fifth-year option for starting running back Najee Harris.

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2024 NFL mock draft: Broncos trade for QB Dak Prescott

Touchdown Wire’s latest NFL mock draft has the Cowboys trading quarterback Dak Prescott to the Broncos.

In Touchdown Wire’s latest NFL mock draft, the Dallas Cowboys trade their star quarterback, Dak Prescott, to the Denver Broncos for their 12th pick, allowing the Broncos to have a franchise QB and draft edge rusher Dallas Turner with the 24th pick.

“So. Now that the Broncos have Dak Prescott under center, it’s time for general manager George Paton to address another roster issue, and that’s the lack of edge talent at the highest level,” Doug Farrar and Jeff Risdon wrote on Touchdown Wire. “Taking Dallas Turner with the 24th pick would certainly solve that problem to a degree.”

Farrar and Risdon believe that he could be a great asset to the Bronco’s defense due to Turner’s production last season as a part of the Alabama defensive front. A comparison to Brian Burns would make Denver head coach Sean Payton smile.

“Last season, Turner had 11 sacks and 53 total pressures for the Crimson Tide, and he projects well as an ideal speed-rusher with the quickness and bend to beat tackles around the arc in multiple ways. At his peak, I would compare Turner to Brian Burns (formerly of the Carolina Panthers, now with the New York Giants) as that super-flexible speed end who can just blow things up in the passing game.”

Although this is hypothetical, the above scenario is plausible. We’ll find out what draft days holds on Thursday.

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Sean Payton comments on how QB evaluations have changed

Sean Payton: “I think offenses have changed a little bit and yet, we’ve never not valued a quarterback that can beat you with his feet.”

During a press conference at the NFL combine in February, Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton was asked if his priorities for evaluating quarterbacks have changed over the years. This was his answer.

“I don’t know that a lot has changed relative to prioritizing what’s most important for the quarterback position,” Payton said on Feb. 27. “Certainly, there has been change. I think accuracy is important and I think leadership comes in a lot of different ways. Historically speaking, we’ve had quiet, successful quarterbacks and we’ve had outspoken, successful quarterbacks. We’ve had tall and short [successful quarterbacks]. So there are a lot of things that make you understand shapes and sizes and personality traits, but there are some constants that go with successful players at that position.

“I think offenses have changed a little bit and yet, we’ve never not valued a quarterback that can beat you with his feet. That goes back to [Steve] Young and [Joe] Montana. Historically, that’s nothing new. We are seeing more in the college game, and then we get to evaluate that and then we’re seeing more of that come into our game. I think it’s good.

“I think fourth-and-one in overtime in the Super Bowl — the play we saw Kansas City run — I don’t know that we see that play 10 years ago. That doesn’t mean we don’t see a conversion, but I don’t think we see that RPO option with a few different reads. Those are some of the things that I think have evolved.”

Really, not much has changed for evaluating the QBs, but some teams have gotten better at utilizing their strengths, including taking advantage of a QB’s mobility, as Payton noted.

Perhaps of note: Oregon quarterback Bo Nix rushed for 1,613 yards and 38 touchdowns in college. The Broncos hold eight picks this year, including the 12th overall pick in the first round. The NFL draft will begin on Thursday in Detroit.

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Broncos and Jets will split QB Zach Wilson’s salary in 2024

The Broncos and Jets are splitting Zach Wilson’s contract in 2024, each paying the quarterback about $2.72 million this season.

The Zach Wilson trade truly is a low-risk move for the Denver Broncos.

The Broncos only gave up a sixth-round draft pick (and they got a seventh-round pick back), and Wilson won’t cost much in 2024.

Wilson is entering the fourth and final year of his rookie contract. Denver and New York have agreed to split his salary this year, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Schefter’s math does not seem to completely check out. It’s possible he just rounded up to $5.5 million and split that in half to get $2.75 million.

If OverTheCap.com’s figures are accurate, the actual number is $5,453,274. Split in half, that would be $2,726,637 paid by each of the Broncos and Jets in 2024 (for what it’s worth, that’s the number listed on Spotrac.com).

The Broncos, of course, know what it’s like to pay a QB to play for a different team. They are still paying Russell Wilson $37.79 million this season while he earns just $1.21 million from the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Bringing in (Zach) Wilson was a low-cost move for Denver to acquire a 24-year-old quarterback with some upside. Even if he’s nothing more than a backup for the Broncos, the trade makes sense.

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Georgia no longer in running for top quarterback recruit

Five-star quarterback Julian Lewis, regarded as one of the top quarterbacks in this cycle, may have ruled out the Bulldogs from consideration.

The Georgia Bulldogs made headlines this past week when they added four-star signal caller Ryan Montgomery in the class of 2025, though it seems the pickup has taken them out of the running for another high profile target. Five-star quarterback Julian Lewis, regarded as one of the top quarterbacks in this cycle, has seemingly ruled out the Bulldogs from consideration. “They got their guy for 2025,” said Lewis in an interview with Rivals.

Lewis, listed at 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, has been committed to Southern California since August, but Georgia was originally among the programs that were considered a threat to flip him. Lewis is originally from Carrollton, Georgia, and had most recently visited the Bulldogs at junior day in February. Auburn, Colorado, and Alabama are all still seen as contenders in Lewis’ ongoing recruitment along with the Trojans.

Lewis’ decision and Matt Zollers’ commitment to Missouri, coupled with the Bulldogs’ pursuit of Jaden Rashada in the transfer portal, would seem to indicate that Montgomery will be the lone quarterback signee in the class of 2025. The Bulldogs’ also hold a commitment from Jared Curtis, who is the top ranked quarterback in the class of 2026.

How the Zach Wilson trade could impact Broncos’ draft plans

After trading for Zach Wilson, should the Broncos still select a quarterback in the first round of the NFL draft?

The Denver Broncos finally have their new quarterback! Kinda.

The Broncos sent a sixth-round pick to the New York Jets on Monday to acquire Zach Wilson and a seventh-round pick in a pre-draft trade. The cost makes it a low-risk move for Denver.

As things stand now, Wilson is set to compete with Jarrett Stidham for the starting quarterback job this summer. How the trade impacts the team’s draft plans remains to be seen.

Logically, it would be reasonable to assume the Broncos are now less likely to select a quarterback when they go on the clock with pick No. 12 in the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday evening. That’s just an assumption, though.

Apparently, the Wilson trade will not deter the team’s efforts to trade up for a top quarterback prospect in this year’s class.

“Expect the Broncos to continue working behind the scenes to see if they have enough to move up in the draft for a QB, otherwise all other options are on the table,” Dianna Russini of The Athletic tweeted on Monday.

It remains to be seen which quarterback(s) Denver might be targeting in a potential trade, but the Broncos obviously view those top rookie prospects as more promising options than Wilson.

What remains to be seen is whether or not Denver feels Bo Nix (24) or Michael Penix (23) is still worth drafting after the team acquired Wilson (24). He hasn’t lived up to his pre-draft hype, but Wilson still has potential.

Using deductive reasoning, it seems fair to assume the Broncos will still move up for a top QB if the price is right, but the team won’t reach for a quarterback at No. 12 after landing Wilson. Right now, all we can do is speculate. We’ll get answers when the draft begins on Thursday.

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