Sean Payton appreciates going into NFL draft with QB position settled

What a difference a year makes.

At this time last spring, Denver Broncos fans and pundits were arguing about quarterback prospects leading up to the 2024 NFL draft. Would any QBs be left when the Broncos went on the clock at No. 12? Would they have to trade up? Should they trade down instead of taking whatever QB was left at No. 12?

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Denver ended up staying put and the team picked Oregon's Bo Nix at No. 12. He went on to earn an alternate invite to the Pro Bowl after totaling 4,207 all-purpose yards and scoring 34 touchdowns in his rookie season.

Now the Broncos are entering the 2025 NFL draft with the 20th overall pick in the first round -- and the quarterback situation is settled.

“I appreciate not being in that quarterback market," coach Sean Payton said at the NFL's Annual League Meeting in Florida on Monday. "That’s difficult. We were talking last night -- George [Paton] and Greg [Penner]. Obviously, there’s a lot of pressure to get that right. When you don’t have it right, it’s one of those positions where it can kind of consume you as an organization. Fortunately a year ago this time, we were able to do that. At 20 — we’re just getting into the heart of the meetings now. The mocks or what have you would be stuff we will throw into a computer.”

Payton later said it's great to already have the team's QB in the building, but he also indicated Nix has plenty of room for growth in 2025.

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"[T]here’s a lot of little things still that Bo will want to be better at, that we need to be better at coaching," Payton said. "Fortunately, he has that make up, that grit, that toughness, all those things that you look for. That’s already begun with him.”

Denver will now look to build around Nix with its seven picks in this year's NFL draft, which will be held in Wisconsin from April 24-26.