Sean Payton explains what will determine which QB wins the Broncos job

Rookie, receiver and returnee Sean Payton will have to choose one of three options for the Denver Broncos quarterback job, and he explained more on Tuesday what will influence his decision.

The second-year Broncos head coach and former Super Bowl-winning signal-caller with the New Orleans Saints said the winner of the QB1 role may not be determined until just before Denver’s first contest at Seattle.

“I still think we always talked about the locker room and the players in the locker room, so I think when we go to training camp and preseason games, decisions often make for themselves,” On Tuesday, Payton explained what the fight for the job is all about. “But the goal is to win. And I understand the question in connection with… but in our league the situation is different from year to year and this year we are competing for victory. And we will make the right decision depending on who gives us this opportunity.

Even though the Broncos put a lot of stock in Bo Nix when they selected the Oregon star in the first round of the draft, it looks like Payton is trying to reassure people not to think he’ll get a shot at the position. There’s also former top prospect Zach Wilson, who caught fire with the Jets and was traded to the Broncos in the offseason. He has NFL experience but has performed poorly in the league. Both certainly have the most potential at the position, but they don’t know the scheme as well as journeyman Jarrett Stidham, who finished last season as Denver’s starter.

“We draw them differently every day with the ones, twos and threes, but we kind of do the same thing with a lot of the other position groups,” Payton said. “I just feel like this is the time of year to do it. I would say my end date is a week before the first game. But I don’t have a set date (to decide who gets the starting job).”

Nix is ​​likely the favorite to start the most games in 2024, although he may not get that role right away. The No. 12 draft pick threw for 4,508 yards and 45 touchdowns to just three interceptions, and threw for another 234 yards and six touchdowns on the ground last fall. Nix actually ran for 510 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2022, showing he can get out of the pocket and is willing to put his body on the line.

Meanwhile, Wilson, when he returned to college, achieved similar results, but had big problems in the NFL. The 24-year-old scored 23 tries and 25 picks in 34 games. On the positive side, he is a former AFC Player of the Week and has led five game-winning drives.

Then there’s Stidham, whose two starts last year against the Chargers and Raiders were no-win. He threw for less than 500 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. In total, Denver scored 30 points.

“Not only as a quarterback, what I’m seeing differently in the offseason is playing in the secondary group of receivers on the line. There is a lot of competition for work and playing time,” Payton said. It’s encouraging and I think you who followed and watched these videos a year ago may be seeing something different. Of course, I feel like it was different.”

Denver is trying to end its second-longest playoff drought. In Payton’s first year on the job, the team improved from five to eight wins. Many people expect the Broncos’ situation to get worse before it gets better, but Payton has been quite positive so far in the preseason.