INDIANAPOLIS — Hey, how you doing, kid. Nice to see ya. Sean Payton.(Hands shake.)
OK, enough of that. These young quarterbacks have heard positive reinforcement and flattery all their lives.
Now watch this.
“Man, it was an interesting meeting, you know?’’ Michael Penix Jr., the University of Washington lefty quarterback who figures to be in contention, along with fellow quarterbacks J.J. McCarthy and Bo Nix, for the Broncos’ No. 12 overall draft pick, said Friday at his NFL Combine news conference when asked about his formal interview with the Denver group. “It was different than the others but I felt good. I felt confident going into it and going out of it I felt confident in it as well.
“Playing for Sean Payton, that’d be special. He’s a great coach, one of the best in the game. To be able to learn from him it would be special.”
Wait a minute. How was the Broncos’ 18-minute formal interview more interesting and different from the others?
“They were tough,’’ Penix said. “They put up a lot of bad plays. But it’s good because at the next level, it’s hard. It’s hard to win. I understand that. I feel like in ways he was probably trying to see how I reacted to those bad plays and take accountability and stuff like that. And I’m always going to do that. I’m always going to put others before me and I’m going to be honest about everything.”
Whoa. As Russell Wilson can attest, Payton isn’t afraid to humble a star quarterback. There were at least seven quarterbacks who were among the 45 formal interviews the Broncos held here at the NFL Combine Tuesday through Thursday.
McCarthy was one.
“It was awesome,’’ McCarthy said. “Coach Payton’s energy. Coach (Davis) Webb. Coach (Mike) Lombardi. It was really great to be in that room with them and go through the tape. It was obviously a really fun time. It was a blessing to pick their brains a little bit and have them just shoot me questions left and right and really enjoyed it.”
Said LSU’s Jayden Daniels, who is expected to be long gone by the time the Broncos pick at No. 12 but nevertheless met with the Payton and GM George Paton contingent. You know, just in case.
“It was great, great to talk to them,’’ Daniels said. “Great to talk to coach Payton and his staff, sitting there and just talked football.”
“It was nice,’’ said Caleb Williams, the projected No. 1 overall draft pick.
“Not to get into any specifics but that’s another (team) that’s really powerful, really strong, heading in the right direction,’’ Nix said. “Obviously, got great respect for (Payton) and what he has done and what he’s probably going to continue to do.”
“He’s very experienced as we know,’’ Spencer Rattler said on Payton. “He knows a lot. He was impressed with my film and we had great talks and it went well.”
So maybe Rattler didn’t get the bad-play film in his interview.
9NEWS hustler Scotty Gange got McCarthy off to the side to ask if he had ever visited Colorado.
“I have. Beautiful,’’ McCarthy said. “Beautiful state. Going outside seeing the mountains, it’s sunny all the time. Just great vibes.”
Draft the guy!
Nix just turned 24, which means he’s three years older than McCarthy. Which will make evaluating one from the other difficult. Sure Nix had way better passing stats as a fifth-year senior than McCarthy did as a true junior. But shouldn’t he? Nix was asked why he decided to return to Oregon last year for a fifth season as a college starting quarterback (the first three at Auburn) rather than turn pro?
“Last year I felt like there was a lot more in college left that I wanted to compete for,’’ Nix said. “One of those things was a championship. I knew we had a great team coming and I knew coach (Dan) Lanning would put the pieces together and all we had to do is go out there and execute. We were a drive or a stop away from being able to do that.’’
Oregon went 12-2, losing only to Washington twice, 36-33 in the regular season and 34-31 in Pac-12 Championship. Washington reached the national championship game.
“We faced a team like Washington who was really good in their own right. So that was all I wanted was a chance to compete for a championship.’’
Nix and McCarthy were each asked: There are five, maybe six, maybe even seven quarterbacks who will be selected in the first round. What makes them unique from the others?
“I would say my ultimate selflessness,’’ McCarthy said. “My ultimate love for the game. And I don’t know a lot of guys who meditate so I guess that makes me unique.’’
Said Nix: “Yeah, I do think there’s a lot of great talent in this draft. I think there are a lot of quarterbacks that somebody can find going really well. I go back to the processing, I go back to the preparation. I think we all can go out there and spin it pretty good. We all can go out there and make throws. That’s the common thing I think we all share.
“But sometimes it comes down to the intangibles we all possess and I feel like when it comes to processing and preparation, passion for the game, and love for the game, and the intensity that you have, I think I bring those at a high level. At the end of the day I’m going to compete and put everything I’ve got out there to win the game.’’
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