Broncos will regret not taking the player that went right after Bo Nix

Travis Wakeman

Broncos will regret not taking the player that went right after Bo Nix image

The Denver Broncos have found their quarterback, the one that Sean Payton really wanted. Emphasis on the word "really". With the very next pick, the Las Vegas Raiders took tight end Brock Bowers. 

Leading into this draft, it seemed that the proper move for the Broncos would be to trade back and collect more picks, particularly one in the second round. There was a thought that a quarterback could still be available later in the second round. 

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The Atlanta Falcons shook that notion up when they drafted Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 overall. 

 

If the Broncos were going to stay at No. 12, there was little doubt that the player with the most value who could possibly still be on the board was Bowers, a player some have called a generational tight end. When the New York Jets — a team many thought would take Bowers for sure — opted to take Penn State offensive tackle Olu Fashanu, Bowers was still, almost unbelievably, on the board. 

 

But the Broncos got their pick into Commissioner Roger Goodell, probably quicker than any team in the first 11 picks. It was for Bo Nix, not Bowers. 

Broncos draft Bo Nix, pass on Brock Bowers

Clearly, Sean Payton felt that he needed to get his guy no matter what, and he has done that. But the guy he didn't take, Bowers, will now be a member of the Raiders, free to wreak havoc on his defense for as long as he remains the coach of the Broncos.

Payton will be mostly lauded for this move inside Broncos Country. But it seems much more like playing with fire than it does a sound football decision. 

Guess what happens when you do that?

Travis Wakeman

Travis Wakeman Photo

Travis Wakeman has been covering the NFL since 2012 when he started with Bleacher Report. After reporting about the Broncos there until 2016, he joined the FanSided network as a site expert covering the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers while simultaneously covering the Broncos at Broncos Wire when that site launched. He then took over the Broncos site at FanSided in March 2020 and covered the team there until spring of 2024. A lifelong Broncos fan and fan of the game, Travis is filled with sometimes useless NFL knowledge, but it always serves him well in any trivia contest. You can follow him on Twitter/X @traviswakeman10.