The Athletic shuts down nightmare scenario for ex-Auburn football QBs on Broncos

The Athletic's Nick Kosmider put to bed a nightmarish, but ultimately unlikely, scenario for the Denver Broncos QB battle: Zach Wilson as QB1 over former Auburn football QBs Jarrett Stidham and Bo Nix.

Kosmider called it "hard to envision" and claimed he needed to make up ground.

"After 12 practices — 10 OTAs and a pair of minicamp sessions — it is difficult to see how Zach Wilson fits in at quarterback for the Broncos," Kosmider wrote. "The fourth-year quarterback has unique arm talent in a QB room that also includes rookie Bo Nix and veteran Jarrett Stidham. But Wilson looks like someone who may need more time to adjust to Denver’s offense, even more so than Nix. Perhaps training camp could alter the equation, but at this point, it’s hard to envision Wilson starting for Denver in Week 1. And he has ground to make up if he’s going to win the backup job."

Zach Wilson starting for Broncos would mean ex-Auburn football QBs Jarrett Stidham and Bo Nix were deemed not the guy in Denver

Wilson is the equivalent to a white flag being waived by the Broncos for the 2024 season. Sean Payton has no reason to punt the season after dealing with so much Russell Wilson drama in 2023, unless he concluded that Stidham and Nix weren't QB1 material and moved on to a 2025 prospect.

Certainly, there are potential franchise options in next year's draft class. Carson Beck, Quinn Ewers, and Shedeur Sanders are the biggest names, but there's guys lower down draft boards like Jalen Milroe and Dillon Gabriel who can be worth a look if Payton isn't happy with Stidham as a Case Keenum-esque late-bloomer to bridge the gap for a few years or Nix as his long-term franchise guy.

That'd be a pretty quick judgement on Nix, but Payton is in a restless market that's itching to see a winner. He doesn't have forever to figure it out in the Mile High City.