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Jeff Legwold, ESPN Senior Writer
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Rookie Bo Nix was named the Denver Broncos‘ starting quarterback by coach Sean Payton on Wednesday.
When Nix lines up behind center for the Sept. 8 regular-season opener against the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle, Nix will be the first Denver rookie to start the regular-season opener since John Elway in 1983.
Nix and Jarrett Stidham met Wednesday before practice with Payton, who informed the two quarterbacks of the decision. Nix had taken most of the snaps with the starting offense last week, including Friday’s joint practice against the Green Bay Packers.
Nix then started Sunday’s preseason game against the Packers, finishing 8-of-9 passing for 80 yards and a touchdown in the Broncos’ 27-2 victory at Empower Field at Mile High. In two preseason appearances, Nix led the Broncos on scoring drives in six of the seven possessions he played.
The Broncos had multiple first downs in every one of Nix’s drives, largely against defensive reserves for both the Indianapolis Colts and the Packers.
Nix, Stidham and Zach Wilson split the work evenly with the starting offense in the offseason program and the first week of training camp. However, since the start of the second week of training camp only Nix and Stidham worked with the starters until Nix got most of the first team snaps last week.
Nix — who was the 12th overall pick in April’s draft and the sixth quarterback taken in the first round — is the highest Broncos quarterback draft pick since they selected Jay Cutler 11th overall in the 2006 draft. Nix is also now the first rookie quarterback to open a season for Payton, who enters his 18th season as an NFL head coach.
“I think it’s a really good fit,” Nix said Sunday night when asked if the Broncos offense suited his skillset. “Especially [Sunday], I came out here and was very comfortable with the first few plays that were called. They were kind of keeping it within my comfort level, and that’s huge, especially for someone’s who’s trying to get in there and execute. You want to run plays that you feel comfortable with, and that’s what coach Payton was calling.”
The Broncos have missed the playoffs eight seasons in a row dating to their Super Bowl 50 win to conclude the 2015 season, including last season’s 8-9 finish in Payton’s first year with the team. And Nix will be the 13th different quarterback — the 14th player overall — to open a game behind center for Denver since that Super Bowl win.
Payton benched the last potential long-term solution at the position last December, when he sat Russell Wilson down for the last two weeks of the 2023 season. The Broncos released Wilson in March and general manager George Paton said Nix was one of six quarterbacks the Broncos had first-round grades on in April’s draft.
Payton has consistently lauded Nix’s maturity, decision-making, accuracy and composure. Nix played in 61 games in five college seasons at Auburn and Oregon combined.
Before the Broncos opened their offseason program in April, Nix had done all he could do to be prepared to compete for the starting job. Beyond all his other prep before the draft, Nix had enlisted the help of Philip Rivers in his transition to the NFL.