Philip Rivers somehow had a massive influence on the Broncos drafting Bo Nix

Man, did ESPN's Adam Schefter leave us with one juicy NFL Draft nugget or what? On the latest episode of his podcast, Schefter revealed one of the most interesting draft tidbits nobody even realized was out there. Apparently, Los Angeles Chargers legend Philip Rivers was working with two quarterbacks in this draft process down in his native Alabama. That would be Drake Maye and Bo Nix.

While Rivers came away impressed with Maye, who went No. 3 overall to the New England Patriots out of North Carolina, he was completely blown away by Nix, who the Denver Broncos took at No. 12 overall out of Oregon. Given Broncos head coach Sean Payton's utter infatuation with the guy, it was only a matter of time before Denver made one of the strangest picks in the entire draft on Thursday.

Here is what Schefter said how Rivers, a Chargers legend, influenced the Broncos' first-round pick.

"Now Sean Payton was calling around in the interim. And one of the people that he called in advance was Philip Rivers, who was working with Drake Maye and Bo Nix down in Alabama. And Philip Rivers really was impressed with Drake Maye, but Philip Rivers was REALLY impressed with Bo Nix."

Keep in mind that Rivers is the guy who replaced Drew Brees in San Diego, the player Payton adores.

"He's like, 'Sean, this guy can spin it! And Sean, this guy's bigger than I thought! And Sean, this guy's a better quarterback than I thought!' So I think Sean Payton and the rest of the Broncos were thinking, 'Wait, wait, wait!!! Philip Rivers is working with this guy here down in Alabama and he sees what we see,' which led them to go into the tape to break down all the throws and even more."

To tie a bow on this somewhat unbelievable story, guess who Payton actually compared Nix to?

"And by the time the draft rolled around, and I tweeted this out after the draft, Sean Payton felt the same way about Bo Nix as he did about Patrick Mahomes in the 2017 NFL Draft."

I like Nix as a prospect, but taking him at No. 12 removes Denver from the Carson Beck and Quinn Ewers sweepstakes next year. Both college quarterbacks feel like locks to go inside of the top five.

There is nothing wrong with the player, but what if a New York Giants legend was giving sage advice that influenced who the Washington Commanders would pick to be the next face of their franchise?

Philip Rivers had a major, major influence on Broncos picking Bo Nix

Rivers may be a future Pro Football Hall of Famer, but you have to wonder if he was giving Payton the god's honest truth, or feeding him a bunch of hogwash. We know what Rivers is about in his personal life, but man, did that guy love to talk trash while on the football field? It was always of the good, old clean variety, but he was a jawer, alright. Maybe he sees himself in Nix and is over the moon with him?

What I don't understand is why the Broncos could not have traded back from No. 12 to draft Nix. The seventh quarterback taken this year did not come off the board until day three of the draft when Payton's former team in the New Orleans Saints used a fifth-round pick on former Oklahoma and South Carolina star Spencer Rattler. This is why this Michael Penix Jr. pick was different than this.

I may echo Payton and Rivers' sentiments to some degree about Nix being a good quarterback prospect, but there was no urgency to take him at No. 12! He was the sixth quarterback taken this spring. Denver could have gotten him much later in the first round if the Broncos wanted to. I don't think the Las Vegas Raiders or the Saints were going to take him. They misread the draft board here.

Regardless, you can thank Rivers for playing a huge part in convince Payton that Nix was their guy.