The Denver Broncos are set to have a three-way quarterback competition this summer between Jarrett Stidham, Zach Wilson and Bo Nix.
As a first-round draft pick, Nix is the presumed favorite to win the job, but the Broncos will let the competition play out. Denver coach Sean Payton plans to split reps between the QBs to give them equal opportunities to impress.
During organized team activities this week, Stidham got the first-team reps on Day 1, followed by Wilson on Day 2 and Nix on Day 3. That order followed their experience level in the NFL.
“We had it in New Orleans after Drew [Brees] left with Teddy [Bridgewater] and Taysom Hill,” Payton said Thursday when asked about having an open quarterback competition. “Look, we go by what we see. We try to get them as many reps as possible. We’re rotating all of them right now. So Tuesday, ‘Stiddy’ ran with the ones, then Zach, and then Bo. We’ll keep doing that right now.”
Payton dubbed the team’s quarterbacks “orphaned dogs,” presumably a reference to Stidham and Wilson being cast aside by their former NFL teams and Nix changing schools in college.
“It’s kind of the orphan group,” Payton said. “They’ll all orphaned dogs. They’ve come from somewhere, but they’re doing well. It’s a good room.”
Stidham has four years of experience in the NFL. Wilson has three years on his resume and Nix is entering his first season. Payton has been pleased with the progress of all three in Denver’s offense.
“They come from different systems,” Payton said. “One is coming from college. One is coming from two or three NFL systems, and the other is coming from one system. They’re all in a race to learn this system. I would say — you guys watched the practice — they’re doing well.”
The QB competition will truly start to heat up when training camp begins in July, followed by preseason games in August. The Broncos have two more rounds of OTAs (May 28-30 and June 3-6) followed by mandatory minicamp in mid-June. Fans shouldn’t expect many developments in the QB battle before training camp.
