Sean Payton dives into Broncos' selection of Bo Nix: 'This was our target'

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As quarterbacks flew off the board early, the Denver Broncos were left with one man in Bo Nix.

Entering Thursday night, the Broncos' quarterback room consisted of Zach Wilson, Jarrett Stidham and Ben DiNucci, and the team had little draft capital to trade up.

But Denver sure seems happy with the guy who fell in their lap.

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Bo Nix of the Oregon Ducks celebrates a touchdown pass in the first half of a game against the USC Trojans at Autzen Stadium Nov. 11, 2023, in Eugene, Ore.  (Brandon Sloter/Image Of Sport/Getty Images)

"He's extremely intelligent, really smart. He handled a lot of the protections," Payton said Thursday night, shortly after the Broncos took the Oregon quarterback. 

"When you watch him, it's pretty calming. He's very efficient, and it's not just because of the [underneath throws]. You see a ton of NFL throws in their offense."

Payton even joked that he was getting frustrated when analysts hyped Nix up.

"Once we knew this was our target … I would be like, 'Shh! Can you be quiet?'" he said.

"Look, I think that a lot of times the offense gets built around the player. So, we moved in a direction for years relative to what [former QB] Drew [Brees] did. But when he wasn't starting, it was [former QB] Teddy [Bridgewater] or [QB] Jameis [Winston]. So it wasn't like 'this guy fits our system,' because our system — let's just say if it was another quarterback. 

"We want the best player. We did our best to talk about other players and directions. It's difficult sometimes. You don't want everyone to know that this is the player. But I saw what you guys saw. I would cringe and