NFL
INSIDE THE DENVER BRONCOS QUARTERBACK DILEMMA
With draft night just two days away, the Denver Broncos look like a team that would love to draft a quarterback in the first round, but do they have enough draft capital to get it done?
Apr 23, 2024

With draft night just two days away, the Denver Broncos look like a team that would love to draft a quarterback in the first round. For weeks, many NFL observers have believed they are targeting Bo Nix from the University of Oregon. But then Peyton Manning opened up his mouth and suggested that the team is interested in former Michigan star J.J. McCarthy.
Manning said during a recent media appearance on 104.3 The Fan that the Broncos are "very interested" in McCarthy.
To add even more confusion to the Broncos' quarterback room, they traded for the former No. 2 overall pick, Zack Wilson, earlier in the week. For those of you keeping dibs on the Broncos' quarterback room, it now includes Jarrett Stidham, Wilson, and Ben DiNucci.
The Broncos may have one of the only quarterback rooms in the NFL that look for people to buy them drinks when they go out to say the QB room lacks NFL achievement is an accurate statement.

WHAT DOES MEL SAY:
ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. said during a recent episode of NFL Live that he "saw a little Drew Brees" in Bo Nix while evaluating the Oregon quarterback.
"Hand size even, exactly the same," he said of the two quarterbacks. "Nix 6'2", Drew Brees 6'0.5". Both around 215 [pounds]. Accurate passers. Don't have the big arm—Brees didn't have the big arm, that's why he was the first pick in the second round, right? Nix doesn't have the big arm. Cerebral. Can beat a defense with their legs. Nix can, Brees had legs coming out, had had over 600 yards rushing in that last year at Purdue."
"I think [Payton] will see a lot of Brees in Nix," Kiper concluded.
According to a report from Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, the Broncos did some homework on Nix.
"The Broncos quietly did a lot of work on Oregon QB Bo Nix—they had an hour-long Zoom with him on March 7, then sent a Sean Payton-led contingent to Eugene to work him out on March 18, per sources," Breer noted. "So interest is there. Fit, too. But not having a 2nd-rounder could complicate it."
THE UNDERRATED OPINION
The knock on Bo Nix is that he is 24 years old and has played a lot of college football, and he should be more refined from an accuracy standpoint.
The Broncos' dilemma is that if they are going after McCarthy, they will have to move up, which could be tricky, considering they don’t have a ton of draft capital. Now, if they decide to go after Bo Nix, they will probably want to trade back to the end of the first round. Sure, they could take him at 12, but why do that if you can get him at the end of the first round?
Ultimately, the Broncos' dilemma comes down to how much more they like McCarthy over Nix and what they are willing to do about it.
Either way, the Broncos cut the cookie; it should be a highly entertaining evening for its fans.
As for Wilson, well, that was essentially an AFLAC insurance policy. Imagine if they get shut out of this year's QB class - at the very least, Head Coach Sean Peyton will be able to say to Bronco Nation we just traded for the former No. 2 overall draft pick, Zack Wilson.
