Sam Darnold or Bo Nix? QB Guru Reveals the More Likely Broncos Scenario

Once upon a time, before even Drew Lock was a thing in the Mile High City, Denver Broncos then-GM John Elway was in love with USC quarterback Sam Darnold. Rumors of Elway being smitten with Darnold abounded before the 2018 NFL draft, including buzz of a possible Broncos trade-up to land the QB. 

Purportedly, Elway was hoping to make a deal with the New York Giants at No. 2 overall, but nothing materialized and running back Saquon Barkley was the pick. The next pick saw Darnold get drafted by the New York Jets at No. 3. 

The Broncos, holding the No. 5 overall pick, selected edge rusher Bradley Chubb. Five quarterbacks would end up hearing their names called in the first round of that year's draft, and the Broncos had the opportunity to take Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson instead of Chubb, which many fans have decried since. 

Fast forward to 2024, facing a massive hole at quarterback this offseason — if Russell Wilson is released — the Broncos will have the opportunity to finally bring Darnold into the fold, even though Elway has long since departed the front office. Darnold is currently the backup to Brock Purdy in San Francisco, but he'll be a free agent when the season ends. 

Is Darnold the type of player that Broncos head coach Sean Payton could get excited about? The Broncos hold the No. 12 overall pick in this year's draft, and will have the opportunity to draft a QB, but perhaps not one of the top-3 signal-callers in the class. 

Debates will rage on whether the Broncos should draft a Michael Penix, Jr., Bo Nix, or J.J. McCarthy at No. 12, or find a stopgap starter for one more year. Expect Darnold to be one of the more alluring names under consideration for the Broncos, especially in the wake of his 2018 draft classmate Baker Mayfield's renaissance with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past season. 

Denver radio and all the local podcasts will keep the Darnold topic alive for the foreseeable. QB gurus like FOX Sports' Joel Klatt will continue to be called upon to share their insights on a Darnold-to-Denver possibility, but it all comes down to what type of QB Payton really wants. 

Even Klatt recently admitted that if given the choice between signing Darnold and taking a QB like Nix at No. 12 overall, he'd err on the side of the draft, specifically because of what Payton idealizes in a quarterback. 

"I would probably take Nix, but that's a really tough one," Klatt recently told Mike Evans of 104.3 The FAN in Denver. "Nix fits Sean [Payton] really well... One of the things that Nix is so good with is his cerebral nature of understanding where to go with the football... I think that's more where Sean is comfortable is a guy that wants to play that way, that is accurate in the short and intermediate zones, that has a quick release, that wants to play as more of a point guard. To me, that's a guy that could have a lot of success. He's very mature, he's got a great head on his shoulders, he's very experienced—he checks a ton of boxes. The kicker is that he's athletic as well, and he can hurt you with his legs. In this day and age, it's almost becoming a must, a requisite at this position."