ENGLEWOOD – Five quarterbacks went ahead of Bo Nix in the first round of the NFL draft, but he apparently didn’t mind. Denver is where he wanted to be.
The Broncos selected the Oregon star with the No. 12 pick on Thursday night. And on Friday he was introduced at the Centura Health Training Center.
“If I could pick where I wanted to go, I was going to pick Denver because of the relationships that we had built throughout the process,’ Nix said. “I just felt like it was a great fit for me.”
Nix began to cultivate that relationship when he had a three-hour private workout with Broncos coach Sean Payton, general manager George Paton and others on the team March 18 on the Oregon campus in Eugene, Ore. He also had some Zoom interviews with the team and it culminated in his selection.
“I’m so excited to be a Denver Bronco,’’ he said. “Excited for day one. I can’t wait to get around my teammates.”
Nix was joined in Denver by his wife Izzy and parents Patrick and Kristina Chapman Nix. His father was a standout quarterback at Auburn, where Nix spent his first three seasons, and was his high school coach in Alabama.
Nix held up a Broncos jersey, No. 1 due to being their top draft pick, but it is not certain yet what number he will wear. Nix wore 10 in college but the Broncos announced Thursday that number will go to recently acquired quarterback Zach Wilson.
Nix said Broncos center Alex Forsyth, his teammate at Oregon, star cornerback Pat Surtain II and left tackle Garett Bolles all reached out to him after he was drafted. And he got back to them.
Quarterbacks taken ahead of Nix in the draft were USC’s Caleb Williams going No. 1 to Chicago, LSU’s Jayden Daniels No. 2 to Washington, North Carolina’s Drake Maye No. 3 to New England, Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. No. 8 to Atlanta and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy No. 10 to Minnesota.
With Nix’s selection, it became the first time six of the top 12 players in the draft were quarterbacks. And a 1983 record was tied with six quarterbacks selected in the first round.
The Broncos have started 13 different starting quarterbacks since Peyton Manning led them to a Super Bowl 50 win after the 2015 season and then retired. Nix, who has attended the Manning Passing Academy, said he got a text from the Hall of Fame quarterback on Thursday night welcoming him to the Broncos.
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“I’m excited to seriously be around him and spend some time with him,” Nix said.
As for trying to become the first quarterback to provide some stability since Manning’s departure, Nix said he hopes his experience will help. Nix is 24 and played in college for five seasons, the past two at Oregon
“It will definitely help and for sure won’t hurt,’’ Nix said. “I think experience is one of the best teachers. … Whatever happens, I know that I’m around a great support staff, I’m around great coaches who have been doing this at a high level for a very long time. I’m going to be able take it all in, learn as much as I possibly can, grow as much as I possibly can.”
Nix will battle Jarrett Stidham and Wilson for the starting job. The Broncos also have on the roster quarterback Ben DiNucci, who spent last season on the practice squad.
“My goal for this year is to do whatever I can quite simply do to help this franchise and organization succeed at a high level and win games,’’ Nix said. “I’m so excited to be a part of this quarterback room with Ben, Zach and Jarrett.”
Stidham was Auburn’s starting quarterback in 2017 and 2018 before entering the NFL. Nix then took over as the starter as a true freshman in 2019 and remained in that role until transferring to Oregon in 2022.
“I just wanted a chance to play for a championship and compete, and that’s what Oregon presented me with,’’ Stidham said.
The Ducks had records of 10-3 in 2022 and 12-2 in 2023, but fell short both seasons of making the College Football Playoff. Yet Nix, in 2023, completed a college-record 77.4% of his passes for 4,508 yards with 45 touchdowns and only three interceptions.
Now, he has ended up in Denver, which he had hoped would happen.
“It’s just a huge honor,’’ Nix said. “(Payton) could have picked anybody else in this draft, and he chose me. With that comes great responsibility and it’s one that I can’t take lightly, and I won’t take it for granted. … I don’t want to just be a draft pick. I want to be able to show my improvements and show that I can do what he picked me to do, and that’s go out there and win games or help win games.”
