The Denver Broncos turned heads last season with a 10-7 record, sneaking into the playoffs just one year after the Russell Wilson nightmare concluded. The catalyst for Denver's ascent was none other than rookie quarterback Bo Nix, who exceeded all expectations and justified Sean Payton's against-the-grain faith in his abilities.
Now it's year two of the Bo Nix experience and expectations are even higher for this Broncos offense. In the span of a year, we went from questioning if Sean Payton has lost his fastball to wondering if the former Super Bowl champ might be the Chiefs Slayer the AFC has been waiting for. Look no further than backup QB Jarrett Stidham to increase your confidence in what the Broncos can accomplish this season.
It's wise to take all preseason results with a grain (or several) of salt, but the Broncos offense is humming right now. Stidham, an NFL journeyman who has long struggled to break through, looks like a Pro Bowler out there. He completed 16-of-23 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday's 27-7 win over the Arizona Cardinals. Then he turned it over to former sixth-round pick Sam Ehlinger, who completed 14-of-16 passes for 162 yards.
Broncos' success with backup quarterbacks sets the bar even higher for Bo Nix
Again, it's the preseason, so we can temper expectations. But this Denver offense is mighty talented and clearly all the dots are connecting in training camp. If Stidham and even Ehlinger can look this good against live competition, just imagine what's possible once Nix is at the commands.
Almost everyone was skeptical of Nix coming out of Oregon. That is not a pro-style offense, with Dillon Gabriel serving as the living proof that almost any quarterback can artificially ramp up his efficiency under Dan Lanning. The Ducks kept Nix in a box, focused on short and intermediate routes that productively moved the chains and set up the run game. He was rarely asked to go off-script and generate explosive plays with his arm.
Payton saw the vision, however, as Nix almost never forced the issue. He almost never threw wildly into traffic nor waited around for the pocket to collapse. The Ducks thrived on Nix's ability to quickly process the field and deliver on-time, on-target passes. He has translated those attributes to a far more complicated and robust scheme under Payton in Denver, proving his tremendous IQ for the game.
Jarrett Stidham's breakout gives Broncos an extra trade chip
In addition to raising expectations for 2025, the Broncos' offensive success under Stidham gives Denver's front office another bargaining chip. Stidham's value is limited as a veteran backup, but plenty of teams would give up legitimate Day 3 draft capital to improve their QB2 situation. Stidham might generate trade interest, especially if he can deliver another strong outing in preseason Week 3.
A year ago, lest we forget, Stidham was in an open QB battle with Nix. The rookie won with flying colors (and aced his first NFL season), but there was a time when folks thought Stidham might be capable of starting on a weekly basis. It has been a long and winding career arc for Stidham, who debuted all the way back in 2019, but he has captured a lot of positive momentum of late.
If the Broncos are comfortable with Ehlinger, who has two strong preseason performances of his own under his belt, trading Stidham for depth at a different position of need or future draft picks would be the cherry on top of an encouraging preseason.