Bo Nix a fan favorite, Zach Wilson up and down, Jarrett Stidham steady

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Bo Nix didn’t do anything extraordinary Friday as training camp officially got under way following two days of acclimation without fans on the west hillside beyond the Denver Broncos practice fields.

But with fans on hand for the first time this summer, it was clear from the opening moments that the first-round pick was the people’s choice.

His first two completions in seven-on-seven work drew ovations that far exceeded anything preceding them in the eight previous repetitions — four from Zach Wilson and four from Jarrett Stidham.

Not that it means anything to Broncos coach Sean Payton.

“Look, I think the fan favorite, from my experience watching practices is whoever ends up on that side of the field running, whether it’s a running back, receiver,” Payton said. “I haven’t really paid much attention to the fan favorite.

“Yeah, I mean, I want the fan favorite to be someone that wins for us.”

The question now is this: Are any of the three quarterbacks on hand capable of helping guide the Broncos to success?

Zach Wilson got his turn with the first team Friday, and it looked much like his work in the previous two days and the five offseason sessions that were open to media observation: pockmarked by inconsistency. His first throw in the seven-on-seven period, when he looked for Tim Patrick fell incomplete; Wilson tried to find the veteran receiver in tight coverage, with Ja’Quan McMillian yielding no separation. After a pair of completions — one of which was to a wide-open Lucas Krull — he overshot his final pass of the period.

Wilson’s team-period work was a mixed bag. He absorbed pressure that would have likely been a sack in game conditions, with edge rusher Ronnie Perkins among those collapsing the pocket.

Pressure from Zach Allen two snaps later forced Wilson off-balance, where he responded with an off-platform completion to Josh Reynolds down the left sideline. It was the type of play Wilson will have to make and showed a glimpse of the dynamic ability that made him a No. 2 overall pick.

.@BruceHaertl: "Sean, I know you like the digestion of the system from your quarterbacks. What about the execution from your quarterbacks?"

Sean Payton: "Yeah. And look, I'm all for it."

After the John McKay reference, he shares his real answer about what's taken into account: pic.twitter.com/NRHti6afGl

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) July 26, 2024

His next team period saw a pair of incompletions on three attempts, one of which was induced by pressure up the middle, leading to a throwaway. Another attempt — to Michael Bandy — was behind the receiver, falling incomplete.

But with the Broncos working on third down throughout the day, Payton cautioned context.

“When we’re working third-and-12, I’m telling them, ‘Hey, it’s complete or incomplete. Punting the ball at that point’s not a bad thing, when you start statistically looking at what percentage of conversions are you going to have,” Payton said.

Working with the No. 2 offensive line, Jarrett Stidham opened seven-on-seven play with a misfire that Riley Moss broke up. But he settled in, with 6 of his next 7 passes over the following periods ending in completions before missing Phillip Dorsett downfield during the final team period of the day.

The incompletion in that stretch came when Stidham looked for Courtland Sutton, only to throw it just behind the veteran wide receiver. The ball skipped off Sutton’s hands, leaving him frustrated, but it wasn’t the easiest pass to catch based on the ball placement.

Stidham’s day lacked the peaks — but also was devoid of the valleys — of Wilson and Nix.

Bo Nix was the No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart Friday, but as noted earlier, appeared to be No. 1 in fans’ hearts. However, the day was up-and-down for Nix, including one team period where he missed on two of three attempts — failing to connect on a short slant to Josh Reynolds and on a downfield pass to rookie Troy Franklin.

This was the second-straight day Nix tried to hit Franklin deep, with both passes missing long.

The fact that Bo Nix is willing to go deep flies in the face of pre-draft criticism, and shows that the rookie has the driver in his bag. It is an encouraging sign. And deep shots on third downs in particular are low-risk plays; they represent chances worth taking. Nix being able to stretch the field and stretch coverage will create more opportunities underneath in time.

It’s also a reminder that practice is about working on concepts that can add value to one’s game.