Bo Nix has been named the Denver Broncos starting quarterback, as coach Sean Payton has hitched his future to a rookie. 

Sure, the competition in the preseason is watered down, but Nix has connected on 23-of-35 passes for 205 yards, two touchdowns and six scoring drives in two preseason games. It’s a performance that has given Broncos’ fans a glimmer of hope that the 14 starting quarterbacks since Peyton Manning retired after Super Bowl 50 haven’t displayed. 

Last year, fans who wanted quarterback Russell Wilson to use his pocket-stretching playmaking skills to do more than manage a game latched onto the phrase coined in Seattle to “Let Russ Cook.”

That outside-the-box style of play never meshed with Payton, and Wilson joined fellow quarterback castoff Justin Fields in Pittsburgh in a competition for the Steelers No. 1 job. 

But it remains to be seen if Payton treats Nix, the sixth quarterback taken at No. 12 in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, like an executive chef or a sous chef. The Broncos offense ranked 26th last season. 

“We wanted to let the decision (to start Nix) play itself out,” Payton said. “Most of the time, when you let that happen, you arrive at the right decisions. We are pleased to see where Bo is at, but there’s a lot of room for growth here.”

In his five years in college, Nix started an NCAA record 61 games, threw for 15,351 yards, 113 touchdowns and compiled a 43-18 win-loss record. His career started as the prodigal son at Auburn and left as a transfer portal darling at Oregon. It’s the most extensive playing experience resume of his rookie quarterback brethren, but he doesn’t have the hardware of Caleb Williams, the overall No. 1 pick and 2022 Heisman Trophy winner. Nor does he have the National Championship that J.J. McCarthy led Michigan to last season. 

As the first rookie to start at quarterback for the Broncos since John Elway in 1983, the Broncos hope their perpetually spinning quarterback carousel has finally come to a successful stop with Nix. 

If Nix blossoms in his rookie season, it could be due to a pair of big-bodied playmakers at wide receiver. Courtland Sutton is a 6-foot-4 target who had 10 touchdowns in 2023. Josh Reynolds is 6-foot-3 and was signed as a free agent from the Detroit Lions, where he had 40 catches for 608 yards and five touchdowns. 

Both could be security blankets for a rookie quarterback who will face disguised coverages and NFL speed and size for the first time. Their presence makes it look like Payton wants Nix to make plays with his arm. 

In his 15-year tenure as head coach in New Orleans, Payton led the Saints to a win in Super Bowl XLIV and ran an offense where future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees made quick reads in an uptempo offense. Thus far, Nix looks more comfortable and better suited to fill that role than Wilson. 

“A good quarterback is the perfect scheme fit, anywhere,” Payton said.

With Payton’s tenure headed into year two, the Broncos have to hope for a smoother marriage between head coach and quarterback. The decks were cleared for Nix when Wilson, with whom Payton butted heads throughout last season with stories of a potential benching and eventual benching for the last two games, was released as a post-June 1 designation and a dead-cap record hit of $53 million this year and $32 million in 2025. 

If Nix isn’t the executive chef Payton envisioned, the coach could end the season on a very hot seat.