Just the thought of Bo Nix lining up under center as a member of the Las Vegas Raiders is enough to trigger the gag reflex in any Denver Broncos fan. Mercifully, Nix found the perfect landing spot for his cerebral and athletic skill set in Denver, and his phenomenal rookie year offers so much more moving forward.
Nix put together an unprecedented 61-game audition in college, showcasing outstanding durability and a wide range of skills that Broncos head coach Sean Payton fell in love with. Payton wasn't alone either, because former Raiders general manager Tom Telesco recently admitted that Nix was absolutely on the table if he were to fall to pick 13 in last year's draft.
"Bo Nix a little bit, you know, his background of work, his durability, his movement skills. That one was interesting," Telesco told the crew at Check The Mic. "And he's gone to the perfect team. That would have been a good possibility."
Telesco's words back up what Payton has said publicly multiple times: there were teams behind the Broncos at No. 12 hoping that Nix would slip to them. Fortunately, the Broncos are always going to draft Nix if he was on the board, and they did.
Remember, Nix was the sixth and final quarterback drafted in the first round last year, and it caught Telesco in a catch-22. Ultimately, Telesco could have tried trading up to get in front of Denver, but perhaps the Raiders' roster was deemed too threadbare to comfortably incorporate the development of a rookie quarterback into the mix, and who knows what teams ahead of the Broncos were asking for to trade back.
The twist of draft-day fate can sometimes benefit multiple teams, and Telesco would've had to trade and surrender plenty of future assets to jump in front of the Broncos at No. 12, who were always hellbent on selecting Nix.
Although it helped doom Telesco, Nix going to the Broncos only a pick earlier had a huge silver lining of sorts for the Raiders because it facilitated the arrival of record-breaking tight end Brock Bowers from Georgia. Even so, without an NFL-caliber quarterback in the fold, Telesco paid the ultimate price and is looking for a new front-office gig despite Bowers becoming an All-Pro in Year 1.
On the flip side, Telesco's former front office rival in Denver landed the missing piece to the puzzle. It's been a good year for Broncos GM George Paton. The future is suddenly looking up for the Raiders too, although Telesco has no part in it.
Former John Elway acolyte John Spytek was hired as the Raiders' new general manager, and he quickly pilfered the Broncos' front office, head-hunting long-time Denver personnel exec Brian Stark. Pete Carroll arrived as the new head coach and he acquired his former quarterback in Seattle via trade, Geno Smith.
These two AFC West rivals have found their respective quarterback solutions, and now Smith will face off twice with the rapidly ascending Nix in 2025. Raider week has become a lot more interesting.
