Sean Payton shares how Broncos felt about Bo Nix’s combine performance

The Denver Broncos weren’t sold on their quarterback of the future Bo Nix at this time a year ago, according to Sean Payton, who shared those details with Fox Sports over the weekend.

Nix thrived in the pros during his debut campaign, becoming a finalist for the Rookie of the Year award after the Broncos took him at No. 12 in the first round of last spring’s NFL Draft. But the process had to play out before Payton and Denver’s brass knew Nix was their man.

“We didn’t at that time (know Nix was our target),” Payton told FoxSports about last year’s evaluation at the Combine. “I would say that decision, probably everything, was finalized, and we felt really strong with the Pro Day he had on Friday, then the Saturday he had a private workout, and I think after that we felt like that was our target. At this point, we didn’t, and he really didn’t throw well.”

Nix didn’t participate in some of the drills last year in Indy, which we recently found out was because he was a bit banged up. Still, he threw the ball and did not impress his future NFL employers.

Payton’s recalling of the past doesn’t totally align with Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer’s reporting that put the date the Broncos were sold on Nix around March 18, two weeks after the combine and just a few days after Nix’s Pro Day in Oregon. Still, the Broncos had three other quarterbacks in for private workouts, including Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy. But team general manager George Paton started liking Nix way back when he was at Auburn and that obviously only grew.

Payton explained why he wasn’t too stunned Nix struggled to throw the ball a bit at the Combine, turning to his own experience as a long-time coach in the league.

“For years in our league, the footballs were never broken in; they’d come right out of the box and that’s a challenge for a college quarterback; they’re slippery; they’re not broken in. Then you get in here, and the temperature maybe is a little cooler than you think. It’s air conditioned,” Payton said. “Learning all of those things, getting adjusted to that. Don Yee’s an agent I’ve worked with throughout my career, and he has this young quarterback Tom Brady and he asked me can call you Tom and tell him what to expect at the combine and this was a favor.”

Payton also shared that the process has changed a lot in his time leading franchises in the NFL.

“The prep they have now is so much different than 20 years ago, the understanding of what is expected, how to handle the interviews, the medical part of it and the drills—I’ve seen players who have bad ball skills who are outstanding through the gauntlet because they worked on it so much. It comes back to the medical info, which is the most important than the interview,” he said.

A lot can change obviously within the process, too. With the combine behind us, it’s likely the Broncos have only narrowed down who they would consider drafting but have yet to develop firm targets, something that will come between now and Draft Day on April 24.