Broncos thought about trading back and still getting Bo Nix but would have been ‘sick’ if they missed out on him

Denver Broncos general manager George Paton explains why they did not trade back from 12th overall.

Heading into the first round, many assumed the Denver Broncos would trade back, collect a few extra picks, and still be able to select quarterback Bo Nix. Well, with five quarterbacks going in the top 10 and the Payton and the Broncos liking Nix more than we thought, they decided to not overthink it and select Nix at 12.

General manager George Paton told reporters that they thought about trading back but when the Falcons shockingly took Michael Penix Jr. at 8th overall, things got stressful for them. Nix was their guy and they wanted to take their guy. He says they could have moved back a few spots but did not want to overthink it and would have been sick if they missed out on him, so they just took their guy at 12th overall.

“We took calls from teams ahead of us. It never really got too serious. We considered moving back, but once Penix went, it got a little stressful there at the end. We had the Raiders behind us, so we just didn’t want to overthink it. This was our guy, and we were going to take our guy. We did think about it, but not too far. We could have moved a couple picks back and maybe have gotten some picks, but at the end of the day, this this was our guy. Let’s just take him. Let’s not overthink this. We would have been sick if we lost him just for a couple of fifth-round picks.”

I was hopeful that they could move back, get a second-round pick back in return, and still get Nix, but the way the board fell, it was not worth it. Five quarterbacks went before this selection, the guy you wanted was available when you were on the clock, and you have a quarterback needy divisional rival behind you who missed out on their guy. You cannot risk it so take your guy when you’re on the clock and move on. Getting a few day-three selections but missing out on your choice at quarterback is not worth it.

Sean Payton told reporters that they viewed the Giants as the surprise team for a quarterback and if they passed, they felt good about getting Nix. However, when the Falcons surprisingly took Penix, they thought: “‘Holy cow. Do we have to go up?’ to get Nix. He then used the example of missing out on Patrick Mahomes when he was hearing people saying the Chiefs could have taken him later but that was not the case because he was ready to select him the very next pick. So they decided to just make sure they got their guy right here.

Oftentimes, you hear this, ‘Well, if they don’t get one here, they can go back and get this one.’ I heard those same comments—when the Chiefs selected Patrick Mahomes and you go back and tune into everything, it was said, ‘Well, they could have got him later.’ No, they couldn’t have. Let’s not worry about—and we all understand managing the draft, but let’s worry about what it’s going to look like three years from now. Three to four years from now, this class will be judged. Make sure we get the right guy there. I agree 100 percent. We were talking about a couple moves and then when Atlanta took Penix, now it was like, ‘Holy cow. Do we have to go up?’

Overall, I understand and agree with their reasoning here. Nix may have been a “reach” according to the media’s draft boards but that was not the case with the Broncos. According to KOA’s Benjamin Allbright, Nix was the Broncos third third-ranked quarterback on their board. The only other two ahead of him were Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels who went first and second overall in the draft. They had Nix ahead of Drake Maye who went third overall, Michael Penix who went 8th overall, and J.J. McCarthy who went 10th overall.

So, while Bo Nix may be viewed as a “reach” by the media and fans, he actually was a value pick for the Broncos, Their third-ranked quarterback on their board fell to them while the lesser-graded ones went ahead.

The media draft boards are a good tool but at the end of the day, they’re essentially meaningless. They are not drafting anyone and each team has their own board and rankings that they go off of.

At the end of the day, the Broncos didn’t risk it, got their guy and hopeful franchise quarterback and that is all that matters. Let’s see what they do on day two of the 2024 NFL Draft.