ENGLEWOOD, Colo — About 10 days before the NFL Draft, John Elway received a text.
Who do you predict for the Denver Broncos’ first-round pick?
A couple hours later came his three-letter response.
“Nix.”
Elway had no inside information. He had not talked to Broncos head coach Sean Payton in a while, no matter the two often golf together in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho over the summer. Nor had he talked to general George Paton, no matter Elway was on the search committee to hire his successor prior to the 2021 season.
And yet on Nix, Elway was prescient. Or at least more qualified than most to make an educated guess.
“They had to get a quarterback and I liked Nix,’’ John Elway said in an interview with 9NEWS. “The other kid I liked was the kid that went at 8, (Michael) Penix. Obviously, I didn’t do a lot of studying on it like I would have (as Broncos’ GM). But I watched them and both are really good players and Nix fits with what Sean likes. He’s started a lot of games, he’s athletic and makes all the throws.”
Since the draft, Elway reached out to Nix and the two have communicated.
“I’m excited about the pick,’’ said Elway. “I think it’s a great pick for the Broncos. As we talked about, he’s played a lot of football and won a lot of football games. And I’ve heard great things about him as a kid, too, so that’s an added plus.’’
Elway also well knows from his 16 seasons as the Broncos’ all-time best quarterback that included five Super Bowl appearances and two world titles and 10 years as GM that included two more Super Bowl appearances and one more world title that it’s not really about what he thinks. It’s about what Sean Payton thinks.
“Absolutely. He’s the one that’s got to mold the clay,’’ said Elway. “Sean’s got experience doing that. He knows what he wants to do, he’s very bright offensively. If Sean likes him, it’s a good fit.”
Bo Nix
Since stepping away from the grind of his GM tenure, Elway still has promotional commitments that keep him busy but there’s enough free time to enjoy a more relaxed life, especially since he’s still a relatively young and healthy as he's about to finish up his 63rd year. He plans on attending some of the Broncos' OTA practices that will begin in 10 days (May 20).
One of his leisurely competitive activities this offseason was golfing a couple times in Cabo with Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the Broncos’ most formidable rival. Mahomes was the starting quarterback for 12 of the Chiefs’ 16 consecutive wins against the Broncos – from their final meeting of 2015 through their first game of 2023 – until Denver finally broke through in the nightcap of their annual two-game series last October.
With three Super Bowl titles and four Super Bowl appearances in the past five years, Mahomes at 28 doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon.
“Having golfed with him a couple times, I’ll tell ya, he’s a really good kid, No. 1, but he’s not satisfied,’’ Elway said. “He’s one of those kids they’re going to have to keep battling. He wants to be the best and he’s not satisfied. He’s still young as hell. So they’re going to have their hands full with him.
“And the one thing there, too, Mahomes, as great as he is, to me Andy Reid is the unsung hero. He doesn’t get enough credit.”
There he goes again. Elway's vast experience as a player and GM tells him it’s not just the quarterback. It’s the quarterback and coach together that makes it go.
As a former GM, Elway acknowledged the challenge the Broncos had this offseason with having to eat $53 million in dead-cap money from the release of Russell Wilson. But he still believes the arrow is pointing up for his team.
“It will be good for that offensive line to have the same coach again and the same system,’’ Elway said. “I think they’ll take strides this year and get better. I think the consistency with the coaching staff will help. I’m hopeful and excited for them. I think they got better.”
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